Year 10-11 Pathway

Students explore the requirements of design briefs and specifications for the development of new products and how consumer requirements and market opportunities inform these briefs. They develop their understanding of the design cycle, the requirements for a design brief and design specification, and the importance of research data in developing a design solution.

Students find out how to perform effective product analysis through both research and practical experience of product assembly and disassembly procedures. This helps them develop skills in critical analysis and an understanding and appreciation of manufacturing processes, design features, materials used and the principles behind good design.

Students develop their knowledge and skills in communicating 2D and 3D design ideas, including effective annotation and labelling. They use detailed hand rendering as well as computer-based presentation techniques and computer-aided design (CAD) software.

Students produce a model prototype and test design ideas in a practical context. They evaluate the prototype against the product specification and consider potential improvements to features, function, materials, aesthetics and ergonomics in the final product.

Students develop their understanding of a wide range of engineering materials and how their properties and characteristics impact on a design specification. They also examine different production processes and their applications.

Students plan and apply appropriate processes to make pre-production product using hand-held tools, measuring and marking equipment safely. They then carry out a range of manually controlled machining operations and perform quality control checks to review their finished pre-production product.

Students explore the role of computer applications in the design and manufacture of engineered products by creating computer-aided design (CAD) drawings to produce a batch of computer numerical control (CNC) manufactured examples of a product. They investigate methods used to compare items manufactured by manually controlled and CNC production, and develop their understanding of how computer control is used to produce engineered products in high-volume.

Students develop their knowledge and understanding of the techniques and procedures used, including ‘lean processes’ to ensure the quality of engineered products. They produce and implement a detailed set of procedures for the quality control of engineered products in a ‘real world’ situation involving high-volume manufacture of products.

This unit covers the skills and knowledge needed to prove the competences required to cover a broad range of basic activities that will prepare the learner for entry into the engineering or manufacturing sectors.  It acts as a basis for the development of additional skills and occupational competences in the working environment.

This unit covers the skills and knowledge required to make full use of text, numeric and graphical information.  Learners will do this by interpreting and using technical information extracted from a range of documents including engineering drawings, technical specifications and reference tables and charts.

In this unit, learners will learn the fundamental health and safety elements required to work in the engineering sector.  These elements underpin all of the practical learning that takes place within the course and the work that an engineering practitioner will undertake.

This unit covers the skills and knowledge required to set up and operate a computer aided drawing (CAD) system to produce detailed drawings for mechanical engineering activities.  The type of drawings produced will include detail component drawings for manufacturing, assembly and sub-assembly drawings.

This unit covers the skills and knowledge required to cover a broad range of basic hand fitting activities that will prepare the learner for entry into the engineering or manufacturing sectors.   The learner will be able to prepare for the hand fitting activities by obtaining all the necessary information, documentation, tools and equipment required.  Learners will also be able to plan how to carry out the required fitting activities and the sequence of operations they intend to use.

This unit covers a broad range of basic turning activities that will enable learners progression in to the manufacturing sector of engineering. The learner will be required to prepare for the turning activities by mounting, positioning and correctly setting a range of workholding devices. They will be able to mount the workpiece and cutting tools and to set and use cutting feeds/speeds and techniques appropriate to the type of material, tooling and operations being performed.

Students are introduced to a range of essential pre-production techniques used in the creative and digital media, including client brief, time frames, deadlines and preparation techniques.

Building on the skills and understanding that they have developed in the previous unit, students explore where and why digital graphics are used and the techniques that are involved in their creation. They apply their skills and knowledge in creating digital graphics against a specific brief.

Students develop their understanding of the basics of character modelling, both 2D and 3D, for the digital media sector, including the software used to create them, and they plan and create a digital character against a specific brief.

Students explore different genres of comic strip and how they are created. They plan and create a comic strip to specific requirements, and review the final comic against a specific brief.