Do you have any questions about the course?
- Leanne Pring
- lpring@ecgbert.sheffield.sch.uk
- 0114 235 3855
Design and Technology: Product Design
King Ecgbert
Totley Brook Road, Sheffield, S17 3QU
Available start dates
Available start dates
Course Summary
General Course Description
This creative and thought-provoking qualification gives students the practical skills, theoretical knowledge and confidence to succeed in a number of careers. Especially those in the creative industries.
They will investigate historical, social, cultural, environmental and economic influences on design and technology, whilst enjoying opportunities to put their learning in to practice by producing prototypes of their choice.
Students will gain a real understanding of what it means to be a designer, alongside the knowledge and skills sought by higher education and employers.
Course Details
Product Design requires students to engage in both practical and theoretical study. This specification requires students to cover design and technology skills and knowledge. These have been separated into:
• Technical Principles
o Materials and their applications
o Performance characteristics of materials
o Enhancement of materials
o The use of finishes
o Modern industrial and commercial practice
o The requirements for product design and development
o Health and safety
o Protecting designs and intellectual property
o Design for manufacturing, maintenance, repair and disposal
o Feasibility studies
o Enterprise and marketing in the development of products
o Design communication
• Designing and Making Principles
o Design methods and processes
o Design theory
o How technology and cultural changes can impact on the work of designers
o Product life cycle
o Design processes
o Critical analysis and evaluation
o Selecting appropriate tools, equipment and processes
o Responsible design
o Design for manufacture and project management
o National and international standards in product design
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/design-and-technology/a-level/design-and-technology-product-design-7552/subject-content
Trips, visits and extra-curricular
We will be running a trip to the Design Museum in London, taking part in a workshop there and visiting the Young Designers exhibition.
In June of Y12 we will be visiting the product design degree show at Sheffield Hallam University to help inform degree choices.
Sheffield has a strong history of making and we have links with a number of companies that we can help arrange work experience and visits with.
Financial Information
Free copy of Autodesk Fusion 360 to use at home.
How will it be delivered and assessed?
Technical principles
Written exam: 2 hours and 30 minutes
120 marks
30% of A-level
Designing and making principles
Written exam: 1 hour and 30 minutes
80 marks
20% of A-level
Non-exam assessment (NEA)
Practical application of technical principles, designing and making principles.
Substantial design and make project
100 marks
50% of A-level
Entry requirements
5 in Maths and 5 in Product Design, DEC, Art, or Merit at Level 2 Designing the Built Environment
Your next steps...
Progression Opportunities
University to study:
Product design, Industrial design, Engineering, Ergonomics, Interior Design.
Apprenticeships:
AMRC in Sheffield offers degree apprenticeships in a wide range of engineering fields with multinational employers such as Boeing, Rolls Royce and Maclaren.
Additional information
For more courses like this, check our courses page.
