The intent of our food technology curriculum is to instil a love of cooking in all students and for them to be able to apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating in everyday life.  Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill for students and we aim to encourage independent learning through practical participation.

The department ensures that our students have a wider understanding of environmental impacts on our choice of foods and the impact on the environment relating to food waste. Our students learn about multicultural foods and experience how different cultural foods influence our everyday food choices. This enables our students to have a clear understanding of different religions and ethical beliefs and how these have influenced our western lives. 

 The food curriculum will also give pupils the opportunity to:

• study a variety of different cooking methods and learn the nutritional impact of each one 
• understand a variety of nutrients and their positive and negative effects on the individual
• experiment with ingredients and techniques they are unfamiliar with
• create a vast amount of dishes to demonstrate their skills in both savoury and sweet recipes
• analyse the various styles of hospitality and catering styles and establishments
• evaluate their own and others’ practical skills
• learn how to develop menus that take into account customer needs
• develop an understanding of how environmental issues impact his sector
• develop an understanding of a varied range of job roles and responsibilities within the sector

To support the teaching of the KS3 and 4 curriculum we have a variety of guest speakers and chefs visiting and we also will offer trips, both UK and abroad, to further support outstanding food teaching and experience.

In Key Stage 3 we focus on basic skills and applying them to cooking methods so that students can use kitchen equipment and prepare food effectively and safely.

All recipes in Year 7 - 9 are designed to use a specific food group, skill or piece of equipment so that all students will leave Key Stage 3 with a well rounded repertoire of dishes and skills.

In Year 7 students have a double lesson every week. This is to embed all the skills necessary for them to progress in Food with confidence. Students will learn about equipment and its uses, ingredients and nutrition. Year 8 and 9 have one hour lessons where recipes become more complex and students are able to start adapting recipes to suit their own preference.

In KS4 students follow the Leve 2 WJEC Hospitality and Catering course. The NEA (non examined assessment) otherwise known as coursework is 60% of the course and concludes with a 4 hour practical based assessment upon a set brief. The final 40% is an exam. Students will have the opportunity to sit the exam twice, one in Year 10 and another time in Year 11 if appropriate. Students will undertake trips where it will actively aid learning. 

We do not currently offer a KS5 course however many students have left to pursue a career in catering whether that be as a chef, food scientist, food technologist, food service or any of the numerous employment options that the course can lead to.