Engineering

Head of Faculty

Mr Stuart Higham

Vision

To set students on exciting career opportunities where you'll get to be creative, solve problems and explore how things work every day. Improve the world in which we live.

Disciplinary Concepts

Have a critical understanding of Engineering’s impact on daily life and the wider world

Use creativity and imagination to solve real and relevant problems

Draw on all STEM disciplines

Use relevant research which helps guide the design process

Engage in an iterative process of designing and making

Not be afraid to take risks, prototype, fail, draw conclusions and improve designs.

Big Questions

How do you interpret this goal?

Why do you think this goal is important?

How do you think engineering can play a part in achieving this goal?

What does it mean to be an engineer?

Do I have to be socially awkward to be an engineer?

How can I make the world a better place to live in?

How can I employ modern technology to make the world a better place?

How can I employ modern materials to make the world a better place?

Curriculum Content

Year 9

Athlete or machine? Comparing the skills of an engineer to the sporting prowess of the athlete. Is the machine or the athlete the overriding factor in the success of para-athletes? Students examine the role of an engineer in the world of sport and how they can influence the performance of top level athletes

Winning medals. Looking at the mechanics behind award winning medallist Amy Williams and how she won the winter Olympic gold medal. Students study forces, aerodynamics, friction and design and build their own test model

Robotics. Following the VEX robot curriculum to build and program an autonomous robot. This unit delivers coding, complex mechanical mechanisms and systems and control.

3D printing project. How can additive manufacture be used to solve modern day problems? 3D priming is at the forefront of modern manufacture, students will learn about the key issues surrounding the process and create their own designs whilst learning the importance of tolerances, manufacturing know how and the limitations of the material/medium

Year 10

Project one – Working with metals 

Project two – Systems: building a small robot 

Project three – Understanding materials 1 

Project four – Making an electronic lock/alarm 

Project five – Building a bridge 

Project six – CAD-CAM

Project seven – Producing engineering drawings   

Project eight – Making a casting/moulding 

Year 11

Understanding materials  

Problem solving / NEA - Working to the task within the approximate time limit set by us for this aspect of the course (30 hours)

Topic 1 – What influences design? 

Topic 2 – Impact of modern technologies 

Year 12

Unit 1 – This unit will develop your mathematical and physical scientific knowledge and understanding to enable you to solve problems set in an engineering context. You will explore and apply the algebraic and trigonometric mathematical methods required to solve engineering problems.  The mechanical problems you will encounter cover static, dynamic and fluid systems. The electrical and electronic problems you will encounter cover static and direct current (DC) electricity, DC circuit theory and networks, magnetism, and single-phase alternating current theory. You may apply these engineering principles to solve problems involving more than one of these topic areas.  This unit is externally assessed. It sits at the heart of the qualification and gives you a foundation to support you in any engineering technician role, an engineering apprenticeship or in higher education.

Unit 2 - Delivery of an engineering process - In this unit, you will examine common engineering processes, including health and safety legislation, regulations that apply to these processes and how individual and team performance can be affected by human factors. You will learn the principles of another important process, engineering drawing, and develop two-dimensional (2D) computer-aided drawing skills while producing orthographic projections and circuit diagrams. Finally, you will work as a team member and team leader to apply a range of practical engineering processes to manufacture a batch of an engineered product or to safely deliver a batch of an engineering service.

Unit 3 - In this unit, you will examine what triggers changes in the design of engineering products and the typical challenges that engineers face, such as designing out safety risks. You will learn how material properties and manufacturing processes impact on the design of an engineering product. Finally, you will use an iterative process to develop a design for an engineering product by interpreting brief, producing initial ideas and then communicating and justifying your suggested solution. You will draw on and apply knowledge and understanding from Unit 1: Engineering Principles and Unit 2: Delivery of Engineering Processes Safely as a Team, for example by using calculations to demonstrate a reduction in mass, by sketching using orthographic projection drawing methods or by justifying an engineering process as its use reduces the carbon footprint  of a product. To complete the assessment task within this unit, you will need to draw on your learning from across your programme.

Year 13

Unit 10 - As an engineer it is important to be able to interpret and produce engineering drawings that help individuals and organisations to communicate ideas, design and manufacture products and improve product performance. Studying this unit will help you to progress to employment as a draftsperson and gain other technician level roles in engineering. It also prepares you for an engineering-based apprenticeship, and for higher education.

Unit 19 - In this unit, you will cover the simulation, construction, testing and evaluation of analogue electronic circuits based on diodes and transistors and combinational and sequential logic digital circuits. As part of the unit you will use software to simulate circuits and use typical bench instruments to test them, since electronic circuit designers make frequent use of software to simulate design ideas before building prototype circuits. Finally, you will reflect on the skills and understanding you have acquired during the unit and the behaviours you have applied.

Unit 45 - In this unit, you will examine the technology and characteristics of the additive and finishing processes that are needed to manufacture a product or component. You will investigate design changes required to move from a traditional manufacturing process, such as machining and casting, to an additive process and the additional finishing processes that may be needed as a result. Finally, you will design a component that is suitable for manufacture using an additive process and manufacture your component using a 3D printer.