Design Engineering

The Design Engineering curriculum is linked to context, the outside world and is interdisciplinary in nature. Former pupils have gone on to have exciting, rewarding and innovative careers with top Design Engineering  firms, in a range of disciplines from product development and innovation, to protecting intellectual property. Others have become entrepreneurs and inventors, launching successful companies in cutting-edge fields of technology.

We help pupils become creative problem solvers as an individual and as a member of a team, by equipping them with transferable hard and soft skills; such as empathy and the iterative design process to tackling today’s and tomorrow’s global problems. One of them being sustainability, which is a key element of the design engineering curriculum.

We also help develop confidence through individual curiosity, experimentation and having fun. All of this is amplified by the excellent and dynamic teaching in the department, utilising state of the art workshops / robotic equipment as well as the enrichment outside of the classroom, including exclusive industry visits and encouraging both girls and boys to compete in international STEM competitions.

At GCSE we follow the OCR specification called Design Technology which allows for pupils to explore a variety of topics, from user centred design to robotics and work with materials and process, such as 3D printing, textiles and welding. From this great foundation at GCSE we then offer an A Level in Design Engineering again from the same exam board OCR (A Level Specification).

Our extra curriculum offering is very extensive and we enter 4 different national STEM competitions, ranging from Vex robotics to electric racing cars via the Greenpower charity. We also enter pupils into the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship programme.

For examples of the pupils’ work, follow the department on X (Twitter) or Instagram @Charterhouse_DE.

Curriculum