Report
Technology and Design Visit
A group of Year 13 and Year 14 Technology and Design pupils, accompanied by Mr Gaffney and Mr Hamilton, attended an interactive lecture called the Faraday Show in the Waterfront Hall Belfast. This was organised by Sentinus, on behalf of The Institution of Engineering and Technology.
Faraday 07 - Winning Formula: Technology in the Fast Lane was a one hour interactive show about the exciting world of Formula 1 and the technology behind the race teams. Of the 11 Formula 1 teams in the world, eight are based in the UK, so it's a thriving industry for engineering and technology.
The Faraday show is all about communicating to young people how exciting and varied a career in science, engineering and technology can be.
Supported by Renault F1, Williams F1, ProDrive, Bentley and BallRacing Developments, Faraday 07 ‘reversed' one year from that coveted place on the podium and looked at how Formula 1 engineering and technical teams develop their cars to achieve the greatest efficiency for the best performance possible.
With live demonstrations, the audiences were taken on a journey through gearing; suspension; forces; aerodynamics; steering and cornering that helped us to make decisions on the specifications of two virtual cars for the finale IET race. The final race saw two teachers from the audience complete one lap of Silverstone against each other on professional F1 training simulators. Sadly it was not our teachers picked for the race, but it was a fun and informative day and everyone appreciated seeing Technology and Design applied in a working and exciting environment.
- David Payne (Year 14 Pupil)
The new revised curriculum operating from September 2008
GCE Technology and Design
Board - CCEA
|
Teaching and
Learning Units
Assessment Unit
|
Nature of
Assessment
|
Assessment
Weighting (%)
|
Examination
Session
Availability
|
|
Product
Design and
Practice:
Materials,
Components and
their uses
|
AS 1
(Compulsory)
|
2 hour external
examination
paper
|
50% of AS
25% of
Advanced GCE
|
Summer and
Winter
|
|
Coursework:
Product
Development
|
AS 2
(Compulsory)
|
45 hour Practical
internally
assessed
externally
moderated
|
50% of AS
25% of
Advanced GCE
|
Summer only
|
|
Systems
and Control in
Product Design
|
A2 1
(Compulsory)
|
2 hours
external
examination
paper
|
25% of
Advanced GCE
|
Summer and
Winter
|
|
Coursework:
In-depth study:
Designing and Manufacture
|
A2 2
(Compulsory)
|
60 hour
Coursework
internally
assessed
externally
moderated
|
25% of
Advanced GCE
|
Summer only
|
Mr L Gaffney (HOD)
Mr N Millar
Mr T Hamilton (Technician)
Careers in Technology
The Technology and Design Department takes every opportunity to promote careers and specifically in areas where Engineering makes a major contribution. We are conscious that these areas range much more widely than simply the academic, and that there are career paths to suit a range of abilities and interests. Within classroom teaching, we frequently refer to applications of the topics under study, and to the occupations which arise from these areas, indeed within each scheme of work Careers is highlighted as a related subject area. So our classes will be informed about obvious occupations such as electricians and civil engineers, but will also see product manufacturers and designers, medical technicians and radiographers, sound engineers and astronomers, environmental scientists and archaeologists all at work in video and DVD material.
Some of the more structured approaches include:
• Careers information on notice boards and careers materials readily available in each room
• Engineering Education Scheme: Wellington College Physics and T&D departments have entered a team of four Y13 students for this Sentinus project for a number of years, in partnership with Valpar Plastics, Bangor. The company sets a real problem/need each year for the team to solve, involving the full range of planning, design and construction skills. The pupils present their chosen solution to a team of judges. These students are also eligible for Gold Crest Awards.
• Nuffield Engineering Bursary: Wellington encourages the best A-Level students to apply for these bursaries, in the form of summer employment placement.
• GETSET: Each year two or three girls in years 12 or 13 are involved in the Sentinus project, introducing them to engineering careers for a week
In this year's revision of the Year 10 coursework we intend to include a section on careers relevant to each topic. These sections will require pupils to research a career for homework. For example the ‘energy’ section will include information on careers involving recycling, harnessing renewable energy, transportation and engineers work ranging from agriculture to conservation. Through STEM, a government sponsored initiative set up to promote Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics, our department is actively seeking all types of support to broaden the available opportunities for our pupils. Further information can be accessed from the following sites:
www.qub.ac.uk/STEM
www.nitechblog.com/companies
