P R O D U C T N EWS
future-proofed its D&T facility with help fromTechnology Supplies
Continued from page 3
“How we created versatile and
‘future-proof’D&T accommodation for the
introduction of
product design at William Brookes School.”
by HarisAli, subject leader for D&T at William Brookes School,Much
the country, our old buildings were at the end of their useful life and were in much need of replacement. in 2007,William Brookes School was lucky to be chosen as the first secondary school in Shropshire to be rebuilt under the BSF ‘One School Pathfinder’ programme. Our old D&T facilities for
‘
resistant materials, graphic products, food and textiles were inadequate in many respects. For instance, graphic products was being taught in what had been a metalwork room and the furniture for the food room had been created out of old science lab desks in the 1960s – so we were really ready to have a change so that our students would have a more modern experience when designing and making. We were delighted to be told in
2007 that we would be having a new school
built.Although it was a daunting prospect, we looked forward to the challenge of influencing and helping to create the new spaces that would meet the needs of students and staff in D&T in the present and the future.
Wenlock, Shropshire Likemany schools in
Having taught graphic
products andAlevel product design for several years in an old and dark metalwork room, I was particularly keen to have spaces that would reflect a modern look and give us the flexibility to move elements about as things change in the future and as our needs evolve.We are thankful that we were consulted about the design and that we had the opportunity to see other new ‘projects’ and that our views were taken into account. What we now have After a lot of hard work in the
planning, packing, moving in, etc, since September we now have four wonderful new teaching rooms as well as a CAMroom and a large ‘breakout’ area within the enterprise and technology learning zone of the school. We also have a superb large materials preparation area and a number of smaller ‘work in progress’ store-rooms. Our new food technology room was designed with a practical focus. Because of the fixed nature of food technology accommodation
Technology in Education No.180 January/February 2011 12
we designed practical spaces for our class sizes and included what we hope are best practice in the food preparation workspaces, food storage and teaching/ demonstration provision. Our textiles room also features lots of moveable and fixed provision for the use of sewing machines and over-lockers, as well as computer and hand-based practical activities.
Our biggest departure…
However, perhaps our biggest
departure from what might be seen in many new departments was in what would have previously been called ‘workshops’. We were provided with two
generously proportioned practical areas. So we decided to have a practical multi-materials room and a lighter multi-materials/ electronics/graphics room.We were also looking for a solution
to the problems of: l deciding what machinery to put in a place and perhaps getting it wrong or wanting to change it;
l finding that we had put in a piece of machinery we really needed but which took up space and which we may not use very
often – eg. a metal lathe; l needing the flexibility to increase the number of resources
for particular units of work; l being able to easily replace equipment as demands change in the future. The solution that we are
piloting is to use portable side benches with different items of machinery that can slide into a run of perimeter benches and be hooked up to the room’s electrical system. The system has been recently developed by Technology Supplies Limited, the main contractor for our new D&T
facilities.Adedicated project manager from Technology Supplies was on hand to provide advice and guidance in respect to a whole host of issues, space planning, curriculum developments, current regulations, as well as arranging visits and meetings to see new systems in action.
Continued on page 26 Check out our website:
www.technology-in-education.co.uk How a rural secondary school
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64