“A healthy outside starts from the inside.”
― Robert Urich
Mission Statement
The Food department here at York High School all share a very clear vision when it comes to the delivery of the subject. In our view, studying Food Preparation and Nutrition will enable students to gain knowledge, understanding and skills required to cook and apply the principles of food science, nutrition and healthy eating. The qualification will help stimulate students to make informed decisions about food choice and nutritional aspects allowing them to acquire knowledge and understanding required in order to be able to feed themselves and others affordably and nutritiously, now and later in life. Research shows that eating habits and healthy behaviours are connected to academic achievement.
The connections between theory and practical lessons will enable students to apply their understanding of food science and nutrition in a practical learning environment. In this way, we hope that students will be equipped with the skills that will enable them to critically analyse key ingredients in healthy and nutritious recipes. Essentially, we aim to develop students’ creativity when preparing and cooking food and instil a genuine desire for the subject, which encompasses beyond the limitations of their education and into adult life.
Overview of Year 7 and 8
Students will practical lessons each week throughout years 7 and 8. This will allow students to gain knowledge and skills related to a healthy lifestyle and just enjoying making food. Practical lessons in year 7 teach students the fundamentals of food hygiene and kitchen safety. These basic nutritional recipes that will support themselves and their families to create interesting and healthy meals.
Recipes in year 8 provide students with more challenge and technical skill. They will be making multi element dishes and exploring the science behind baking.
Year 7 practical recipes
Year 8 practical recipes
Overview of Year 9
Food in year 9 follows a scheme of work that represents a foundation year. It aims to effectively bridge the gap between year 8 and GCSE levels of study, and to develop the skills that students will require to tackle GCSE content while exposing them to fundamentally important subject knowledge in relation to nutrition.
Topics covered include:
Year 9 practical recipes
Overview of Year 10
In year 10 students will focus on food commodities. Each half term the learning will be based on a particular food group. Students will have the opportunity to discover the variety of food types, how the food is processed, nutritional values and how these foods are used in the diet.
Topics covered include:
Overview of Year 11
During year 11 students will commence their coursework units, which consist of an experiment-based assessment and a food preparation assessment.
The GCSE qualification is comprised of three assessment elements:
Assessment 1: Exam: 1 hour 45 minutes at the end of year 11, 50% of the final grade.
Assessment 2: The Food Investigation Assessment, 15% of the final grade. A scientific food investigation which will assess the learner’s knowledge, skills and understanding in relation to scientific principles underlying the preparation and cooking of food.
Assessment 3: The Food Preparation Assessment, 35% of the final grade. Prepare, cook and present a menu which assesses the learner’s knowledge, skills and understanding in relation to the planning, preparation, cooking and presentation of food.
We follow the Eduqas specification at GCSE. A comprehensive overview of the GCSE course curriculum can be accessed here.
The food department aims to provide a variety of extra-curricular opportunities to students. Cooking club on Thursdays is very popular for students to improve their kitchen confidence or gastronomic flair.