Design Technology and Engineering

Highgate’s Design, Technology and Engineering Department spans throughout the curriculum from KS1-5. All the content of the DTE curriculum is linked to context, the outside world and is interdisciplinary in nature. Former Design Technology & Engineering students go on to have exciting, rewarding and innovative careers. Some go on to work for top Design Engineering firms such as Rolls Royce and Dyson, in a range of disciplines from product development and innovation, to protecting intellectual property. Others have become entrepreneurs and inventors, launching successful companies in cutting-edge fields of technology, such as Litho, an augmented reality ring.

We help students become creative problem solvers as an individual and as a member of a team, by equipping them with transferable hard and soft skills; such as empathy and the iterative design process to tackling today’s and tomorrow’s global problems. One of them being sustainability, which is a key element of the DTE curriculum.

We also help developing confidence through individual curiosity, experimentation and having fun. Design Technology & Engineering means different things to different people, but the common thread is that it is their home and they often find their passion. All of this is amplified by the excellent and dynamic teaching in the department, utilising state of the art workshops / robotic equipment as well as the enrichment outside of the classroom, including exclusive industry visits and encouraging both girls and boys to compete in international STEM competitions.

At GCSE we follow the OCR specification called Design Technology which allows for students to explore a variety of topics, from user centred design to robotics and work with materials and process, such as 3D printing, textiles and welding. From this great foundation at GCSE we then offer two A-levels,  Design Engineering and Product Design, again both from the exam board OCR, please click here to see the specifications of both the courses.

Our extra curriculum offering is very extensive and we enter 8 different national STEM competitions, ranging from Vex robotics to electric racing cars via the Greenpower charity. We have been lucky enough to attend the world vex robotics championships in the USA, 3 times and had students win various design innovation awards, from TDI to triumph. We also enter students into the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship programme, where we have had over 18 scholars over the past 7 years.

Here is a link to a recent article which the Director of Design Technology & Engineering wrote about the department. For examples of the pupils’ work, follow the department on Twitter or Instagram.