Academic Departments - Textiles

Design and Technology, Textiles teaches designing and making skills and aims to promote expressive and evaluative skills relevant to the modern technological society. It is the study of fabric and fabric products incorporating information on fabric construction, qualities and finishes and fibres in addition to fabric embellishment, colour, texture, and pattern container, cushion, storage and waistcoat projects.

Textiles technology is a fascinating subject for study, which has progressed from Home Economics to incorporate fascinating areas of highly technological hybrid products by both male and female designers. Contemporary textiles offers a fusion of synthetic and traditional materials with combined qualities, new characteristics, extended capabilities and innovative results e.g. micro fibres which may be multi-layered, light, translucent or iridescent fabrics or constructed, sculptured, unusual textures and metallised fabrics as soft as silk. “Performance” fibres include properties like the elasticity of human skin, the ability to absorb or repel heat with the fluctuation of body temperature, to be light or sound sensitive, monitor height, weight, sex or footprints, change colour or be anti static or anti bacterial.

Textiles is taught from Year 9 where a cushion project is introduced where girls may chose design and shape and learn practical construction skills in addition to producing an A4 of project work. At Year 10 there are two projects, a bag and a waistcoat or catwalk product. Girls produce an item of their choice and a supporting A3 folder of project work. At Year 11 GCSE girls choose what they would like to make and produce an A3 folder of supporting project work e.g. evening dresses. The coursework in all years comprises of a research, design, making and evaluation section to include a practical product. Marks are awarded on the quality of each section, presentation and originality. As Textiles technology also includes an industrial and commercial aspect, and trips are arranged to industrial, sites, museums and exhibitions, to include an annual visit to the The Clothes Show in Birmingham.

Textiles technology is a most popular subject which has grown rapidly since its introduction.

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