Food Technology

Food Technology is introduced to all the girls in Upper III (Year 7). They have lessons with a specialist teacher in a room that is well equipped with all that is needed to develop their practical cooking skills.

In Upper III (Year 7) the main aim is to instil an enjoyment of the subject as well as covering very important topics such as food safety and hygiene and healthy eating with much emphasis on fruits and vegetables. Sensory tasting is a popular activity and students are asked to evaluate their cooking. Great emphasis is put on the developing of practical skills.

In Lower IV (Year 8) optional clubs are held and much of the work from Upper III (Year 7) is continued although enjoyment is the key point here. In Lower IV and Upper IV, girls have the opportunity to participate in the Young Chef competition where we have enjoyed considerable success. A Design and Technology day is held for Lower IV (Year 8) and the girls spend time in Food working as part of a team, making and decorating a food item, there is also the opportunity to use CAD (computer aided design) and then sitting down to eat it.

The work in Upper IV (Year 9) is based around a looking at specific foods and the functions of these ingredients. The girls are expected to adapt and develop recipes to improve their practical skills. The girls will also work on a project, where they are able to choose a country or a special dietary need such as meals for children and design and make a new food product to suit the requirements of the task.

As a GCSE option the students are introduced to a variety of practical skills and opportunities are given to practise them. They are also introduced to the Design process and have opportunities to practise this with short Design and Make activities on various topics such as desserts and cakes for special occasions, meals for specific needs (eg. vegetarian), pasta sauces and many more. During the two year course we visit the Good Food show at the NEC in Birmingham and see famous chefs in action. Some students choose to enter the Young Chef competition and have been very successful.

Food Technology is a very interesting and exciting subject to follow.

Click here for a link to the specification.