In third year pupils visit our subject two times a week, they will visit four times a week in S4. As learners reach the end of the BGE phase and prepare for the Senior Phase our S3 course is designed to promote further progression into National Qualifications. Pupils can choose from the following courses:

Graphic Communication (BGE with a Graphic Communication focus) The learners will be working on the level 4 experiences and outcomes in preparation for the National Qualification in S4. They will be developing subject knowledge as well as a wide range of manual drawing skills and CAD/CAG techniques. They will also be looking at analysing and creating promotional work such as advertising through items such as leaflets and magazine articles. Please see the S3 Graphic Communication page for more information on this subject.

Design & Manufacture (BGE with a Design and Manufacture focus) The learners will be working on the level 4 experiences and outcomes in preparation for the National Qualification in S4. They will be building their skills, knowledge and practical techniques.

Design and Manufacture is a relatively new course in our national curriculum where pupils will learn traditional designing and crafting skills through an array of materials and workshop techniques. Additionally, the Design and Manufacture course has been modernised to provide our pupils with not only with traditional workshop skills but also with the manufacturing knowledge, skills and processes that are now fundamental in the commercially manufactured world in which we live in.

Currently there is a huge demand for people with skills in designing, manufacturing and fixing products. Career pathways from Design and Manufacture include Joinery, Plumbing and Electrical trades as well as many types of Engineering, Product Design, Furniture Design, Industrial Design, Computer Aided Design & Manufacture, Architecture and many others.

Design and Manufacture will develop pupils creative and technological abilities by helping them to view the world as a designer, engineer and craftsperson. The course provides pupils with an opportunity to design and manufacture products that have a purpose and can be used within the environment in which they surround themselves. As a result of this course pupils are able to look in depth at the products surrounding them and consider factors that have influenced how the products were designed, manufactured and used and how they may be disposed of in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.

The Design and Manufacture course will allow pupils to develop their skills in creating functional prototypes using a significant range of hand and machine tools. It will also give pupils an insight to the world around us. In S3 the pupils will typically design and make a product (e.g. a metal sculpture) and make and evaluate a stool and a piece of pewter casting. Products designed and made may vary depending on pupil effort.

Units for study within the Design and Manufacture course are: –

Materials and Manufacture, including but not exhaustively: Both handmade and commercial techniques of manufacture (e.g. wooden joints and plastic injection moulding). Investigating material properties, availability and costs. Evaluation of products.

Design, including but not exhaustively: The Design Process (e.g. design brief, idea generation, design proposal). Members of the Design Team (e.g. designer, client, accountant). Factors that influence design (e.g. ergonomics, aesthetics, target market, safety). Graphic and presentation techniques. Product evaluation techniques (e.g. user trials, online reviews). Work for this unit can be produced both manually and/or with CAD/CAG.

Assessment: Pupils must pass all Units and the Course Assessment to be successful in achieving an overall course award.

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