Curriculum Intent

• To provide our young people with the skills and knowledge they need to provide for themselves a healthy and balanced diet. They will have the knowledge to understand what different foods can do for their body and the skills with which to prepare them.
• For the students to engage with the science behind good nutrition from the beginning of our curriculum, learning about different nutrients, what their functions are and how it will affect them at all stages of their life.
• To promote a healthy eating ethos and equip students with the practical skills needed to prepare meals that are nourishing, relevant to themselves and their families and with skills that can be used in many other recipes.
• To embrace food from different cuisines, encouraging the exploration of recipes from other parts of the world as well as celebrating our own food culture and heritage.
• To empower student’s choice of food through open and unbiased discussion over dietary choices based on ethical and moral considerations as well as learning where our food comes from and how it is processed.
• To promote a love of cooking food that will fuel their bodies and minds every day of their lives, to understand how to lead a healthy lifestyle and about respecting their own and others food choices.

Why study Food Preparation and Nutrition?

The ability to cook is a very important life skill, and knowledge of the impact your diet has on your health is vital!

GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition equips students with the knowledge, understanding and skills to be able to feed themselves and others better. Students develop practical cookery skills and techniques as they explore the underlying principles of food science, nutrition, food traditions and food safety

In studying food preparation and nutrition, students must:

• 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 diet and health 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 (traditional British and international), to inspire new ideas or modify existing recipes

Assessment

50% - Final examination in the Summer term of the second year of the course
15% - Scientific Food investigation
35% - Food preparation task. Students must cook 3 dishes in 3 hours from a choice of 2 briefs

Supporting Documents