Food

Food is an extremely popular and often oversubscribed subject at The Appleton School. We guide students to develop those vital life skills that enable them to feed themselves and others affordably and nutritiously, now and later on in life.

At both Key Stage 3 and 4, there are a huge amount of cross curricular links with almost every subject, which allows students to thrive in a number of areas they may find most interesting and engaging.

Key Stage 3 – Food

At Key Stage 3, the students study Food over a 12-week rotation.

In line with the national curriculum, during this time students are taught to:

  • understand and apply the principles of nutrition and health
  • cook a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes so that they are able to feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet
  • become competent in a range of cooking techniques (for example, selecting and preparing ingredients; using utensils and electrical equipment; applying heat in different ways; using awareness of taste, texture and smell to decide how to season dishes and combine ingredients; adapting and using their own recipes)
  • understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients

At Key Stage 4 we currently offer both Food Preparation and Nutrition, as well as Level 1/2 Hospitality and Catering.

Key Stage 4 - Food Preparation and Nutrition

The GCSE specification is an exciting and creative course which focuses on practical skills to ensure students have a thorough understanding of nutrition, food provenance and the working characteristics of food materials. Throughout this course, students are educating on how eating well impacts their health and wellbeing and learn to plan, prepare and cook a variety of dishes based on nutrition knowledge, this them the ability to thrive independently.

Furthermore, students are encouraged to develop their creativity by planning and preparing their own dishes at GCSE. Practical’s focus on cooking skills at a medium to high level. Students are equipped with a comprehensive range of skills in order to prepare a variety of nutritious and aesthetically pleasing dishes. Essentially, this qualification emphasises the understanding of healthy eating, food provenance, sustainability, and the characteristics of food materials and the specification is divided into 6 core topics.

  • Food preparation skills
  • Food, nutrition and health
  • Food science
  • Food safety
  • Food choice
  • Food provenance

This course follows the AQA specification and is made up of an exam and non-examined assessments. The exam takes place at the end of year 11, where theoretical knowledge is assessed in a 1 hour 45-minute examination and accounts for 50% of the GCSE.

Non-examination assessment (NEA) assesses students' understanding of the working characteristics, functional and chemical properties of ingredients as well as the ability to plan, prepare and cook a range of dishes to meet a brief. The NEA tasks take place throughout year 11 and are largely practical based, which are marked internally and account for the remaining 50% of the GCSE. These are also completed during lesson time. How will this help me in future?

This subject in the future could lead to further education opportunities and such as food related degrees. Careers could include working in:

  • Enforcement agencies such as Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Food Safety
  • Product Development and Manufacture incorporating quality control and new product trialing
  • Food Science and Microbiology
  • Hospitality, Catering and Retail
  • Dietetics, Food and Nutrition, Sports Nutrition

Key Stage 4 – Level 1/2 Hospitality and Catering

The WJEC Vocational Award in Hospitality and Catering equips learners with theoretical knowledge about the industry as well as enabling them to develop practical skills in planning, preparing and cooking a variety of dishes. Students learn a wide variety of culinary skills, how to present and serve food. They also learn about the environmental, ethical and economic effects of food preparation.

This course follows the WJEC specification and is made up of an exam and non-examined assessment. The exam takes place at the end of year 11, where theoretical knowledge is assessed in a 1 hour 30-minute examination and accounts for 40% of the GCSE.

Non-examination assessment (NEA) assessed and develops learners’ practical skills for planning, preparing, cooking and presenting nutritional dishes meeting the client needs. The NEA task takes place throughout year 11 and are largely practical based, which are marked internally and account for the remaining 60% of the GCSE. These are also completed during lesson time.

If you have any queries regarding our Curriculum please contact us.

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