Curriculum Provision for Years 7, 8, 9
Students learn a variety of practical culinary skills in Years 7, 8 and 9. They will develop their knowledge and understanding of a wide range of ingredients, equipment, processes, understand and apply the principles of nutrition and current health issues. In all years they will cook a range of predominately savoury dishes to become competent in a range of cooking techniques.
The Year 7 course begins with some basic design skills and focused practical tasks in order for students learn key skills and to understand the design process. Students also learn the importance of food hygiene, safety and weighing and measuring. During their time within Food Technology students are taught how to use the oven, grill and hob safely and how to prepare food hygienically.
In Year 8 students learn about nutrition and the importance of a healthy diet. They undertake further design and make activities coupled with focused practical tasks as the dishes made become more complex and use a wider range of equipment. Towards the end of their time in Food Technology pupils focus on pastry making and make a range of dishes using their new skills.
During Year 9 students continue to develop their practical skills with 3 modules of work. They study international cuisine, bread-making and a complete a bake-off challenge. Students can be more independent at this stage, choosing and developing their own dishes.
The GCSE Curriculum
Years 10 and 11
• Catering WJEC (replaced by Food Preparation and Nutrition from September 2016
This course consists of 60% controlled coursework assignments and 40 % examination.
Catering: GCSE
The course consists of two controlled assignments (worth 20% in Year 10 and 40% in Year 11) giving a combined total of 60%. The coursework consists of a written assignment coupled with a practical assessment both of which are conducted under controlled exam conditions.
The Catering exam is 1¼ hours long and is taken at the end of the course. The exam is a single tier A* to G paper.
This written paper is worth 40% of the overall final grade. Candidates will be required to respond to short-answer, structured and free response questions drawn from all the areas of study of the unit.
Some questions will require extended writing and will assess the quality of written communication. The paper will be presented in the form of a question and answer booklet.
For the foundation level questions students will need to define, state and list.
For the higher level questions students will need to discuss, explain, evaluate, describe and give examples.
The Food Industry, including catering, is the biggest employer in the UK, everyone has to eat, we organise our days around when we eat.
Catering at GCSE level will provide students with a clear understanding of:
• Food preparation, cooking and presentation
• Nutrition & menu planning
• Costing portion control
• Risk assessment (HACCP)
• Types of products & services
• A range of customer groups
• Job roles, career opportunities & training
• Range of equipment used within the industry
• Health & Safety & Food Hygiene
