UPDATE: Added a 33 page PowerPoint guide to using the MEKBOX which covers the use of mechanisms and motion. **PLEASE NOTE: this resource will require access to a laser cutter and (optional) 3D printer to create the parts. ** This resource is aimed at late primary level (late KS2)/secondary level (early KS3) to help teach students about mechanisms and motion. The basic resource consists of six panels that can be stored flat or assembled into a storage box and that click together to form a board to connect mechanisms to. Because the parts need to be laser cut, you can print as many of the different panels as you may need. The 2D parts are supplied in. DXF, .SVG and .AI (Illustrator) for laser cutting so they can be imported into a wide range of applications. Individual parts are also supplied in .DXF form.Please check that you can open or import these formats before purchasing. If using 2D Design and importing DXF, please ensure units are set to mm Included in the files are a relatively simple set of mechanical parts that connect to the board using readily available paper fasteners. There are also a few small 3D printed elements which are optional if you just want to use the flat panels and mechanisms. The optional 3D printed parts are provided in .stl format ready to be imported into your slicing software.

This resource is designed to teach a range of traditional and modern manufacturing skills which combine to make a desktop ‘gadget’. You may be limited by time or resources and it would be difficult to cover all of these skills in depth during KS3 or even KS4. There are 12 different skills or processes here, but there is the potential for many more to be introduced, incorporated or addressed. They cover: Pewter casting Vacuum forming Marking out wood Shaping and drilling wood Cutting a knuckle joint Forming metal rod Vinyl cutting 3D CAD and 3D printing Cutting a housing joint Threading rod Thermoforming (line bending) Laser cutting Assembling the Skills Bot The resource contains instructions for the whole project as well as individual PDF presentations that can be projected in class or printed as handouts. Also included are individual technical drawings for each components to make class hand outs easier to produce. There is limited design work with this resource, although there are opportunities to customise or personalise some elements. It is intended to cover a range of skills that are commonly used in Design and Technology.

Updated August 2023 with the official summer 2023 grade boundaries. The 2023 paper is now transferred to the summary sheet as the mock examination results. The 2022 paper is now used for the end of theory assessments. Slight changes to the colour schemes to match the theory pre Updated August 2022 with the official summer 2022 grade boundaries. The 2021 paper is now transferred to the summary sheet as the mock examination results. Update December 2021 with the 2020 and 2021 exam papers. The 2020 paper is now used as the mock and the 2019 is used to test the end of all the 50 individual theory lessons. Updated January 2021 with all the AQA theory mapped over 50 lessons with ongoing assessments. Supporting presentations that match the lessons which are now available!** This enhanced version of the AQA GCSE tracker has been updated to generate comments from the marks awarded. It has the two AQA specimen papers for reference and the 2019 GCSE paper to use as a final test after the theory lessons. The 2020 examination paper is used as a mock exam which will be added to the NEA assessment to give an accurate prediction based on the previous years’s grade boundaries. A PDF guide to using the tracker has now been added to the resource. Please note the Grade Boundary sheet is up to date with the 2019 grade boundaries for both the paper and NEA as of 2021. To use: Simply use the Context sheet to enter all student details including candidate number and attainment target. Use the Comment sheet to award marks for each Assessment Objective and comments will be provided in the boxes for use in CRF’s or reports. Use the Mock sheet to add the marks from the 2020 paper used as a mock exam. Use the Theory sheet to help plan out your weekly lessons to ensure all the theory is covered. You can also use this to keep a track of ongoing assessments and it will show an average. It will also allow you to compare a test paper to the final mock to see if the students have improved. Everything will then be transferred to the front Summary sheet, totals will be generated and levels awarded derived from the existing GCSE boundaries. Old type grades are also provided for reference. All the cells that do not need editing are locked to avoid making mistakes but the sheet can be unlocked with the password ‘gcse’. Updated May 2016 with room for 26 student names and added a pie chart to show percentage of students who were above/below target. More can be added if you are comfortable with editing Excel spreadsheets or simply make additional copies of the spreadsheet for the additional students. If you have less than 26, ensure that there is nothing entered into the A8 column on the context sheet and the pie chart will ignore these when calculating the percentage of students above/below target. Extra sheets for homework and assessments can be tailored to suit your needs and will not affect the Summary sheet or the predicted levels.

UPDATE (August 2024): Updated with the summer 2024 grade boundaries from AQA. UPDATE (August 2023): Updated with the summer 2023 grade boundaries from AQA. All previous past papers are now added with the 2023 paper used for final/mock exams and 2022 paper for end of theory tests. Added a guide to using the tracker with the theory presentation units. !!Please use the 2022 spreadsheet. The previous tracker (2021 ) is just to be used for reference!! UPDATE (August 2022): Updated with the summer 2022 grade boundaries from AQA. UPDATE (September 2021): A new and updated spreadsheet has been added to the resource. This has comment banks from the syllabus which are generated from the marks awarded. UPDATE February 2021): Suitable past paper questions are now added to each section which match the presentation slides that are now available. See product details for how to use these for ongoing assessment in the theoretical aspects of the A Level course. Titles now match those in the AQA Theory presentations. November 2020 grade boundaries have been used in the tracker. This is a comprehensive tracker for AQA A Level Product Design although it could be adapted for other courses/exam boards. If you complete the Student information sheet, all the relevant data will be copied to the corresponding sheets. The same with the Grade boundary sheet which sets last year’s grade boundaries for every aspect of the course. There is an outline for delivering the course theory content spread over 60 lessons which will have supporting presentations at a later date. Teachers can choose the past papers to use for reinforcing learning and these are all mapped to the new content on the Content sheet. For ongoing assessments, put the total score for the question in the top of the column for each lesson or unit and as you complete the score for the student, it will give an average of their results over the year and compare these to their mock results. All this data is copied to the front page where the results from the NEA are added to give an accurate grade prediction based on the previous year’s grade boundaries. There is scope for teachers to tweak this resource to suit but for now, cells that have formula or references are locked to prevent any errors. Each worksheet can be unlocked with the password ‘advanced’.

These two workbooks support the compulsory theory for the AQA GCSE in D&T (8552). These workbooks are designed to match the theory presentations. Without these, the contents and questions in the workbooks may not seem as relevant, but they do address the syllabus criteria. The two workbooks are in PowerPoint format so you can edit them to suit your needs but PDF versions are also included. The resource includes: 3.1: Core Technical Principles (two workbooks)

A companion resource to the examplar folder and student guide, this is a collection of slides from the theory presentation resources that can be used in support of the teaching of Component 1. If you have that resource you already have all these slides but for those who just want to address the coursework, this is a selection of relevant presentations to help. At 105 slides long, it can be used throughout Component 1 to illustrate the various stages and help students to understand the design process.

A collection of the workbooks to support the theory presentations for 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3. The resource consists of workbooks for the compulsory elements 3.1: Core technical principles and 3.3 Designing and making principles. All five 3.2 workbooks are also supplied covering timber and wood, metals and alloys, paper and board, textiles and polymers. This full resource is also included in the Ultimate D&T GCSE Teacher Toolkit.

This workbook support the theory presentations for 3.2 Specialist technical principles with the focus on Timber and wood. Without the theory presentations, the content and questions may not seem as relevant, but they are structured in a way that follows the syllabus. The resource is in PowerPoint format so can be edited to suit, but a PDF version is also supplied.

Update: Mark scheme added for the past paper and other questions in the lessons. A set of 15 lessons in editable Powerpoint Show format which cover the teaching of Wood and Timber. Each lesson includes a lesson outcome, introduction, summary of the unit and revision tips as well as links to maths and science and a suggested practical activity. Questions and past paper questions are matched to those in the AQA DT tracker (recently updated) so you can deliver theory as well as assessing knowledge and tracking progress. You only need to cover ONE material group in depth so use this resource with the GCSE theory bundle available separately which covers all of the compulsory learning units.

UPDATE January 2024: Added additional columns for maths and science scores from the design booklets or your own assessments. All student data is now in a Class info. sheet and copied across to all the other sheets. This is a new Key Stage Assessment based on one, two or three projects per year. The assessment sections correspond to the National curriculum with additional sections for communication and technical skills. Use this with the available KS3 design booklet to assess, track and monitor student progress against their Attainment 8 target through KS3 as well as their knowledge of maths and science in those booklets. Should you wish or need to unlock the sheets, the password is ks3. You can then use the GCSE tracker if you follow the AQA specification.

A completed AS and A Level project checklist ideal for digital folders. The sections can be changed to suit the centre, subject or syllabus. Ideal for producing a matching digital folder or as a checklist for NEA work.

UPDATED March 2021 This resource consists of several SketchUp files including exploded versions and orthographic views as well as a textured final model. It could be a practical lesson for students or a practical test for a technician or new teacher. Its makes a box of box joints which then fits into a frame of frame joints. It is also useful as an isometric or 3D drawing exercise or to teach CAD using SketchUP or any other 3D package. NOTE: This will work with SketchUp Make 2017.

This is a free unit to introduce the format of the A Level theory lessons which are Power Point Show presentations for each aspect of the A Level sylllabus with past paper questions for each topic supported in the A Level tracker which is also available. They cover 60 hour long lessons with three more for mock exams. This resource will make a comprehensive guide to the theory with ongoing assessment and tracking of the theory and NEA aspects of the course. Further units will be made available then bundled together into more cost effective units.

A collection of 100 Design and Technology Subject Genius blogs each with a unique illustration published via the TES since 2016. This PDF collects together all of the blogs for easy access along with some additional content. Ideal to expand your reading on the subject or to use for discussion at department and management level. Please note: this now contains two documents, each with 50 illustrated blogs which are no longer available to read on the TES site