In Design and Technology this week, all classes have been very busy working on the final making aspect of their Design and Technology projects. In Year 9 Textiles, they have been creating their upcycled cushions and in Product Design they have been having their first experience of pewter casting and making jewellery (see pictures below). In Year 8 textiles, they have been creating a bag incorporating their own designs printed on to the fabric for the pocket, and in Product design have been finishing off their ‘earphone’ tidy which has been created using CAD/CAM, such as the laser cutter and sublimation printer. In Year 7 Textiles, students have been putting their finishing touches to their stationary holders, incorporating a range of different hand stitching. In Product design, they have started to create their marble runs. Students have shown real pride in their creations and are very excited to take the finished products home next week as the first rotation comes to an end.
Food Preparation and Nutrition
A warm welcome back, PGHS!
Throughout Key Stage 3, we are starting off this first rotation with learning the principles of health and safety. Students have been identifying the health, hygiene and safety hazards in the ‘Grime Scene’ set up in the Food room, testing their knowledge on a very important aspect of preparing, cooking and serving food.
Year 11 are conducting a ‘fun-a-food’ science investigation in preparation for their NEA1 (Non-exam Assessment 1 – Food Science Investigation). Their task is to bake the perfect chocolate chip cookie. To do this they will need to research how cookies are made, what ingredients are used and the functional and chemical properties of these ingredients. They will also research different methods of preparing and baking the cookies. Lots of taste testing will be happening. Will they find the ultimate method to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie?
Miss Scott
Head of Food and Nutrition
Food Preparation and Nutrition
Year 7
Year 7’s composite task this year was to plan, create and evaluate pizza toast for a children’s party. Students used cooking cutters to cut out the bread and used lots of different vegetables to make a nutritious snack.
Year 10
Year 10 completed their mock NEA2 this summer term. This is a challenging task for the students as they complete 3 dishes within 3 hours. It was a great success with may students realising their potential and now knowing they can push themselves further and complete more complex dishes next year in their GCSE exam. Well done Year 10! As you can see from the photographs, students were completely focused and hard at work to complete this task!
Year 11
Year 11 will be very much missed by Miss Scott. These are Miss Scott’s first GCSE class at Penwortham Girls’ High School. To celebrate their final practical lesson the students practiced exam question on cake making, and explaining why a cake may go wrong! They then made a cake in groups as a competition. Here you can see the winning cake!
Good Bye Year 11! As you can see they aren’t quite in their normal uniform as it was their last day.
3D Printing Workshop
We are extremely fortunate to be one of 52 schools to be working with Create Education, to encourage and promote 3D printing in schools. We have kindly been provided with a top of the range 3D printer and scanner, which we hope to include into our Design & Technology curriculum over the next year.
As part of the programme, on Thursday 13th July, 60 year 8 students took part in a 3D printing workshop ran by Sonya and Caroline from Create education. Students were introduced to 3D modelling software, ‘OnShape’, whilst understanding how the 3D printer works. They were given lots of advice on the day, including possible careers and opportunities with 3D printing.
Mrs Freer
Curriculum Technology Co-ordinator
Roq Defective Challenge
On Monday 26th June, a Chorley-based company called Roq came into school. Roq are a business that offer engineering consultancy and they are aiming to inspire females in their field of work. Today, women taking computer science-related degrees in the UK make up just 13% of students. The company was intending to illustrate what this field of work is like and so the students took part in some activities which helped them understand what career opportunities are available in computer science.
The students took part in a challenge/competition, where they had to find defects on different real-life websites. They worked in small groups, competing against each other. However, all the points were then added together so that other schools within Lancashire all competed against each other.
The competition within school soon heated up and each group worked extremely well as a team, identifying the different defects in the websites. During the second part of the session, Roq gave the students information about career paths in computer science at A-level and beyond. The students found this very helpful and enjoyed taking part in these activities. It taught them skills that they wouldn’t learn in normal lessons and encouraged them to peruse their interests in computer science. Well done to the winning team on the day – Sai, Vanika, Sophia, Ella and Heidi! We are awaiting to hear the final results from the competition across the schools to find out whether Penwortham Girls’ are the Defectives Champions of 2023.
Mrs Bennett, Curriculum Leader for the C.A.T. Faculty
Year 7 Baking Club
The new Year 7 Baking Club has been a huge success this term. So far, students have made cupcakes and then decorated them with coloured buttercream and lots of sprinkles. They have also made flapjacks this week. Next week, we will be making vegan brownies, with pancakes to follow and for the pièce de résistance…a lemon meringue roulade!
Year 8s have been conducting food science investigations to understand the functional and chemical properties of yeast in bread. Students have then made their own bread using yeast as their raising agent.
Mrs Scott
Food Technology Co-ordinator
Year 10 Food Preparation and Nutrition
Year 10 have completed a mock NEA1 (non-exam assessment). This is where students conduct a food investigation which includes a written report. Their brief was to investigate the working characteristics, functional and chemical properties of raising agents in baked products. Year 10 have now started their mock NEA2. This mock task this year is to plan, prepare, cook and present a range of dishes from British or International Cuisine. They will make their 3 final dishes in June.
Miss Scott
Food Preparation and Nutrition Teacher
Year 11 Food Preparation and Nutrition
Years 11 have now successfully completed their NEAs (non-exam assessments). This will go towards their GCSE grade. Their first task was to conduct a food investigation which included a written report about understanding the working characteristics, function and chemical properties of ingredients. Their second task was to create a written portfolio of knowledge, skills and understanding in relation to the planning, preparation, cooking and presentation of food. They also looked at the application of nutrition related to their chosen task. Students prepared, cooked and presented a final menu of three dishes within a single period of no more than three hours. Year 11 students were very successful in the practical, creating some very professional dishes. Just the written exam in June to go! You can do this!
Miss Scott
Food Preparation and Nutrition Teacher
Design & Technology, Art and Photography Workshop at Newman College
On Monday 5th December, 14 GCSE Design & Technology, Art and Photography students visited Newman College to take part in a range of Textiles, Art and Photography workshops. They learnt all about the courses available and got to experience some of the techniques and skills which they can develop whilst studying A-levels and BTECs at Newman College. A massive thanks to past PGHS student, Chloe Forshaw, who is currently in her second year of her Art & Design BTEC at Newman College. Chloe shared her amazing work and discussed her experience at Newman, as well as the path she has chosen to take since leaving PGHS.
Mrs R Freer
Curriculum Lead for Technology
Food Preparation and Nutrition
Year 10 students have learnt about dietary needs and have planned and prepared a vegetarian pizza, complete with pizza box to take home. Students are now looking into the science of making the pizza dough and bread by conducting a science investigation.
The pop up – popcorn club after school was a great success. Students made their own popcorn and then flavoured it with a variety of ingredients. A firm favourite were the marshmallows, sugar and cinnamon!
Mrs Scott
Teacher of Food Preparation and Nutrition
