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A sad farewell to Product Design

I feel I am going through a bereavement of sorts at the moment.

I have taught Product Design GCSE for over 10 years and as of the end of this academic year, it will no longer be offered as a subject in my school. It is a sign of the times I’m afraid and many schools that I know are shrinking their Design & Technology departments dramatically. It is just so very sad that young people are not going to have the same breadth of creative subjects available to them and I despair at what the long term implications of this will be. I am not a naturally political animal but the current situation (which is impacting education at all stages) makes it hard not to want to shout out and be heard. As a nation we have always been celebrated as a leader in design on the world stage and rightly so. Now the creative thinking and problem solving skills that the Arts subjects nurture will no longer be fully developed in our young people it will surely impact both our economy and wellbeing in the long run? 



I feel privileged to have taught many wonderful Product Designers over the years including my current group who I call my ‘Lovely but Lively' class, the LBLs for short! They are taking the subject at GCSE a year early (as has been done at my school for the last 5 years with great success) so are currently in year 10.  I can’t show you their complete finished products unfortunately but they are fantastic and I am so very proud of them all.



This year they have made lights, clocks, tables and necklaces, so some very diverse products and plenty of room for creativity. The collective techniques that have been used in their manufacture include sublimating, laser cutting, 3D printing, casting, etching, bag pressing, drilling, routing, polishing, laminating, die cutting, annealing, piercing, engraving, moulding, strip heating, embossing, vacuum forming, engraving and soldering. Materials used include copper, aluminium, brass, pewter, foamboard, styrofoam, perspex, HIPS, plywood, MDF, pine, resin, LEDs, polymorph and nanoflakes.



As I see builders measuring up the workshop ready for conversion into use for a different subject it is hard not to feel deep sadness and the end of an era. I don't blame my school, they are working hard to stay current and competitive, helping students achieve what the universities are now looking for (with the focus on the EBacc subjects). It has to come from the government and I just hope that the pendulum swings back again one day to enable young people to fully embrace their creativity within an educational environment.

If you think that the Arts subjects are worthy of inclusion in the EBacc you may be interested in this link:  https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/111731

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  1. Davies9 April 2016 at 15:41

    I'm with you all the way. I hope the government will see sense before too much longer.

    ReplyDelete

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