Industry experts are calling for a shake-up to the design and technology curriculum to make it greener, as findings show nearly half of secondary teachers and leaders want to modernise the subject.
More than a dozen organisations - including Google and the Design Council, along with school leaders and teachers - have supported a call to move the focus of the subject away from the “creation of existing consumer products that too often end up in landfill”.
Instead, they support a more sustainable approach where students are challenged to design solutions that address global issues, such as climate change.
Pearson, which runs the exam board Edexcel, is also calling for the design and technology (D&T) curriculum to be reformed to reverse the decline in pupils’ uptake of the subject.
The call comes as a survey finds that half of secondary school teachers and leaders would support the move to D&T addressing global challenges like climate change (51 per cent) and preparing students for designing in a digital future (49 per cent).
The survey of 2,295 secondary school teachers and leaders in England was carried out last month by Teacher Tapp.
Minnie Moll, chief executive of the Design Council, said: “Studying design at school is a crucial talent pipeline, our research shows that seven in 10 of today’s 1.97 million people working in design studied it at GCSE level.
“The decade-long decline in students studying the subject presents a major and urgent risk to the sector’s future.
“We must inspire the next generation of designers if the UK is to become a thriving green economy.”
Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, also backed a change of focus.
She said: “Design and technology is a subject that has been neglected by the government over many years, with it being sidelined in school performance measures that favour traditional academic subjects.
“This has contributed to a worrying drop in the number of pupils taking a subject that is crucial for learning about technology and innovation.
“It is a sensible idea to shift the focus of design and technology to sustainable solutions.”
Chloe Haggerty, head of digital and creative arts at a secondary school in Essex, said the subject needed to “evolve” in order to attract more students.
She added: “Many students see the limitations of D&T in its current form and switch to art, craft and design”.
GCSE D&T entries halved over the last decade, with the proportion of students taking the subject at GCSE falling from 44 per cent in 2009 to 22 per cent in 2020.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We want every child and young person to benefit from a broad and balanced curriculum while striving towards our vision for the UK to be the world-leading education sector in sustainability and climate change by 2030.
“D&T can teach young people vital practical skills while inspiring their creativity. We are considering further steps to incorporate sustainability and climate change into the subject and the wider curriculum to help to equip students for a green future.”
