Year 7

The main focus of the project is environmentally friendly food where students design and make a soup and salad where they consider issues such as organic produce, vegetarianism and fair trade, and how these have an effect on the environment. Students are expected to complete a healthy eating diary where they analyse their eating habits with the view to developing a healthy diet. Practical lessons include lemonade, salads, sauces, soups, small cakes and the development and realisation of their own starter design.

Year 8

The food technology project is based around Jamie Oliver’s school dinners venture. It aims to encourage pupils to plan and consider healthy meals and eating, in relation to the food they consume at school. It teaches about national healthy eating guidelines, and pupils learn about the different food groups. Students learn about multicultural foods together with religious constraints and preferences. They research and analyse the effects of processed foods in relation to its knock on effects. Practical work encourages adaptation of existing recipes with their own shepherd pie design. Multicultural dishes, homemade pasta sauces, and a meal of their own design which must fit certain criteria.

Year 9

Year 9 Food Technology is made up of two projects. In the first project students are required to design and make one sweet and one savoury snack bar, suitable for teenagers to eat at break, lunch or after school. Students are expected to conduct research into existing products, adapting recipes to lower fat or sugar content and to complete surveys to find peoples preferences. Practical lessons involve prototyping snack bars and developing a final product containing no more than 250 calories. The second mini project is based on layered deserts. Students learn about ingredients and their functions within dessert making and look at presentation of food within industry.