All stitched up - fashion and interior design

Students learn to design & make fashion and interior design products using textile materials. At all levels students experience CAD and manufacturing through the use of both computerised sewing machines and software for designing garments and fabrics (including 3D images to ‘body-map’ garment design). Alongside these skills, students learn surface decoration techniques including photographic transfer printing, appliqué, computerised embroidery and hand dying.

At GCSE and A Level, students’ coursework projects give an opportunity for research into an area of their choice and allows for the development of their own ideas for fashion or soft furnishing.

At Key Stage 3, students follow the guidelines set by the National Curriculum and are taught in mixed ability groups. Students are taught in ‘carousel’ - they rotate between the specialist teachers so that over 3 years they have experience of all 5 areas of DT. At Key Stage 4, all students choose one technology area to study at GCSE. DT has always been a popular option at Sixth Form and this year there is a wider selection of A-level courses available.