Resistant Materials

Aims

Resistant Materials refers to the everyday materials such as metal, plastic and wood that we use to create the vast majority of products and structures that make up the modern world.  In this course you will gain an understanding of their properties and applications as well as essential processes such as heat treatment, shaping and re-forming.  You will learn how to work with a wide variety of materials in order to design and make practical products that arise from the needs of real life design situations.

The course is an opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge necessary for you to play a part in shaping the future as a designer or engineer.

Do you enjoy:

  • creating your own products from materials such as plastic, metal and wood?
  • designing from an initial idea to a final completed solution?
  • working with hand tools and computer controlled machinery?
  • working with CAD/CAM programmes – ProDesk Top and 2D Design?

If so, then RESISTANT MATERIALS is the course for you

Course Details

In year 10 you will undertake a series of short projects and focused tasks in order to increase your experience and understanding of the main subject areas, namely:

  • working with metals
  • working with plastics
  • working with wood based materials
  • Computer aided Design/ Computer Aided Manufacture (CAD/CAM)

You will design and make your own products as well as using Integrated Computer Technology (ICT) and CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/ Computer Aided Manufacture) which is essential in this field in order to model ideas and manufacture quality products.  You will become adept at using a variety of software including Techsoft 2D Design and Pro-Desktop.

The focus of year 11 will be the Resistant Materials assessment task; to design and make a working product and a supporting design portfolio.  Suitable areas for project development could include jewellery, furniture design, educational games and devices to aid the disabled or storage systems.

Assessment

The assessment is comprised of two components:

  1. Resistant Materials Task (60%) - a controlled design and make assessment task (30 guided hours).
  2. Written Paper 2 hours (40 %) - candidates will be required to sit an examination of two hours' duration (split into two sections), set and marked by the WJEC.

Assessment for GCSE Resistant Materials is untiered i.e. all components/units cater for the full range of ability and allow access to grades A*-G for the subject award.