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Product Design

It is our intent that the Product Design curriculum is rooted in the research and exploration of contemporary creative practitioners and design history, beginning at KS3 with Art Deco, Memphis Design and Art Nouveau.

By evaluating and considering the functional and aesthetic qualities of ideas, concepts, products and architecture of others, they gain an understanding of how individuals in the wider design sphere have helped and continue to help shape the world, and use this knowledge to engage in practical designing and making of innovative, functional and appealing products which respond to a variety of needs and situations.

They will also understand how individuals working on developments in design and associated emerging technologies have a responsibility to sustain the earth’s precious resources for future generations with creative solutions providing low-impact answers to the current and future problems of resourcing the needs of a growing global population.

The curriculum is designed to cater for students of all ability ranges, SEND needs, minority groups, genders and cultural backgrounds. It is our intent that students will generate creative solutions involving user-centered design identifying their own design problems and avoiding stereotypical responses whilst responding to the ergonomic, cultural and physical needs of users by utilising the D.A.T.A. philosophy, Designing Everyone In.

They will learn to create their own design specifications, developing concepts and communicating these through annotated sketches, detailed plans and computer-based design software. It is our intent that students will engage in a wide range of designing and making project-based activities with increasing complexity, using specialist tools, techniques and processes, equipment and machinery with skill, including access to Computer aided design/Computed aided manufacturing from KS3 upwards.

Cultural Capital is extremely high within the department and is enhanced when permitted by organised trips enabling students to access many globally renowned exhibitions and workshops in museums and galleries in London which supports the development of their extraordinary outcomes at GCSE and A level.

It is our ambition for our your people who study with us up to A level to leave our department as rounded creative practitioners, fully prepared for the challenges of Foundation Art and Design at globally elite London colleges or straight onto prestigious design or architecture courses at top universities, including Oxbridge.