Brunel College holds the study of mathematics to high esteem, understanding its usefulness in future opportunities and its ability to improve mental health – “Engaging a specific part of the brain during mental math exercises is connected with better emotional health” according to a new brain-scanning study published by Duke researchers in the journal Clinical Psychological Science. Teachers at Brunel College encourage students to recognise how maths can be applied to ‘real life’, develop their confidence in numeracy and instil a love of problem solving.
Food
Our Food Technology course look at a broad range of cooking techniques and nutrition. Students start with the basics and learn to cook a range of meals, calculate nutritional profiles and gain comprehensive cooking skills. They look at nutrition and healthy eating, achieve qualifications in the AQA Unit Awards including, health and hygiene. The kitchen is a practical environment where the students learn to cook, clean and enjoy food preparation. Cooking is an essential life skill and empowers our students to make changes that benefit their health and wellbeing. Our Food Technology course aims to give every young person the basic skills and knowledge to be able to cook for themselves in a healthy, cost-effective way, as well as gain the confidence to share these skills with friends and family. They demonstrate their success in their subject by the students leading on preparing lunch for the whole school on a daily basis.
KS3 Curriculum
In KS3 we go through a range of cooking skills and develop a solid knowledge of how to cook. We look at nutrition and healthy eating to develop a good range of simple meals that can be used in KS4. We aim to complete our level 2 in health and hygiene to gain a qualification to help with level one or two home cooking skills at KS4. We look at fun activities and make themed cooking at easter, Christmas and summer.
KS4 Curriculum
In KS4 students can choose to take Food Technology as a course. We work towards a level one or two home cooking skills (Pearson’s BTEC), this involves developing the skills and set of solid recipes to take home. We cover the nutritional aspect of all recipes and prepare the students to cook a three-course meal. We also look at college courses and work experience for further education.
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Students are awarded with AQA Unit Award Certificates as shown below:
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Year 10
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Term 1 - Unit 121766 Cooking and Food Preparation.
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Term 2 - Unit 121310 Food and Cookery (Unit 1)
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Term 3 - Unit 119542 Introduction to Healthy Eating
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Term 4 - Unit 121375 Cooking Healthy Meals
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Term 5 - Unit 119596 Life Skills: Cooking Unit 1
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Term 6 - Unit 118911 My Cooking Journal: Bronze
Year 11
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Term 1- Unit 120455 – Healthy Eating and the Effect on the Body and Mind
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Term 2 - Unit 120057 – Farm to fork: A Food Journey
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Term 3 - Unit 120073 – Creating a Basic Cookbook
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Term 4 - Unit 119410 – Preparing and cooking Meals on a Budget
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Term 5 - Unit 120897 – Cooking on a Budget
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Term - Unit 118912 – My Cooking Journal: Silver.
The above is an example of our learning journey, the running order can be adapted depending on student need.