Food Technology is an exciting and creative subject enabling students to develop a thorough understanding of nutrition, food provenance and what makes food what it is. At its heart, food technology focuses on nurturing students’ practical cookery skills to give them a strong understanding of all aspects of food and nutrition.

This subject encourages students to develop communication skills, fine motor skills, spatial awareness and promotes collaboration. The course is filtered through different levels of understanding for each key stage to make it accessible to our students at Fairley House.

By studying food technology, students will:

• Demonstrate effective and safe cooking skills by planning, preparing and cooking using a variety of food commodities, cooking techniques and equipment 
• Develop knowledge and understanding of the functional properties and chemical processes as well as the nutritional content of food and drinks 
• Understand the relationship between diet, nutrition and health, including the physiological and psychological effects of poor diet and health 
• Understand the economic, environmental, ethical, and socio-cultural influences on food availability, production processes, and dietary choices 
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of functional and nutritional properties, sensory qualities and microbiological food safety considerations when preparing, processing, storing, cooking and serving food 
• Understand and explore a range of ingredients and processes from different culinary traditions (including national and international), to inspire new ideas or modify existing recipes.

GCSE food preparation and nutrition equips students with the knowledge, understanding and skills required to cook and apply the principles of food science, nutrition and healthy eating. The course encourages students to cook and enables them to make informed decisions about a wide range of further learning opportunities and career pathways. It also helps them develop vital life skills, so they can feed themselves and others affordably and nutritiously, now and later in life.