Design Technology
Our Design Technology department equips our students with the skills to develop a deeper understanding of how products are designed and manufactured through independent learning, creativity, problem solving and innovation.
Curriculum Intent
At Poole High School, our Design & Technology curriculum places creativity, innovation and problem-solving at its heart. We encourage students to design and make products that address real-world problems and meet the needs of a diverse range of users. Through engaging and practical experiences, students develop the knowledge and skills needed to think creatively, work independently and become confident designers and makers.
Our curriculum draws upon a broad range of disciplines, including mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art, enabling students to understand how these subjects work together to create successful design solutions. We encourage students to take risks, experiment with new ideas and develop the resilience, resourcefulness and adaptability needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
By exploring and evaluating both historical and contemporary design, students gain a critical understanding of the impact that technology has on everyday life and society. They learn how design influences the world around them and develop an appreciation of the role innovation plays in shaping the future.
We aim to equip students with the practical skills, technical knowledge and creative confidence required for the 21st century, inspiring originality, enterprise and a lifelong ability to solve problems through design.
Key Stage 3
Our Key Stage 3 Design & Technology curriculum is carefully sequenced to develop students’ practical skills, creativity and independence. In Year 7, students focus on skills-based learning, developing the fundamental techniques needed to work safely and effectively with a range of materials and processes. Alongside these practical skills, they begin to build transferable design and problem-solving skills that can be applied across all areas of Design & Technology.
In Year 8, students are introduced to the principles of the design process through a series of design-and-make projects, each with a different material focus. They develop their understanding of investigating, designing, making and evaluating, learning how these stages work together to create successful products and design solutions.
In Year 9, students apply the knowledge and skills gained in previous years to a range of problem-based design challenges. Working with increasing independence, they tackle real-world design scenarios that require creativity, innovation and critical thinking. Through these projects, students refine their ability to generate ideas, test solutions and produce high-quality outcomes that demonstrate both technical skill and imaginative thinking.
Key Stage 4
We offer two courses that provide our students with the opportunity to develop a strong understanding of the technologies that shape the modern world.
In the last 100 or so years, the technological advancement of the world’s cultures has advanced at a staggering rate, with design and technology as the key to this progression. If you have an inquiring mind, are interested in how things are designed and made, and think that there are better ways for products to be designed then D&T is for you.
Our courses enable students to explore a wide range of design, engineering and manufacturing principles, alongside emerging technologies and modern production methods. Students develop their creativity, practical skills and technical knowledge through designing and making products that respond to real-world needs.
In GCSE Product Design you will learn about:
Materials
New and Emerging Technologies
Mechanical and Electrical systems
Past and present designers
Design methods
Manufacturing skills
CAD/CAM
In BTEC Engineering you will learn about:
Engineering Principles
Delivery of Engineering Processes Safely as a Team
Engineering Product Design and Manufacture
Applied Commercial and Quality Principles in Engineering
A Specialist Engineering Project
Microcontroller Systems for Engineers
Calculus to Solve Engineering Problems
Key Stage 5
At Key Stage 5, the school offers a course in A-Level Product Design.
Learn more about our Sixth Form Technology courses
