Design & Technologies

Building Skills for the Future

Year 11 and 12 students in the Certificate II in Construction Pathways course are building practical skills and industry knowledge to prepare for careers in construction. Through hands-on learning and a focus on workplace health and safety, they gain experience in reading plans, taking measurements, using industry-standard tools, and working as part of a team.

This semester, students have applied these skills through various practical projects and learning experiences.

Year 11 students have learned the fundamentals of bricklaying, including safe tool use, material handling, and essential masonry techniques. They are now completing their final assessment: constructing a ten-course brick wall with piers at each end, which integrates the skills developed throughout the semester.

Bricklaying requires patience, precision, and attention to detail to ensure level courses, plumb walls, square corners, and consistent, well-finished joints. Students have embraced these challenges and should be proud of their progress.

Year 12 students have developed their carpentry skills by fabricating a timber bottle carrier and constructing a Cornhole board, which they personalised with creative artwork and finishes. Aerosol art has been especially popular, with many students incorporating street art and space-themed designs into their projects.

Students will then collaborate to construct a dog kennel as their third major assessment. Similar to the Year 11 bricklaying project, this task brings together the skills developed throughout the course and requires students to apply their knowledge of measuring, marking out, cutting, joining, and assembling materials to meet industry standards.

It is encouraging to see growth in confidence, craftsmanship, and problem-solving skills across both year groups as students build strong foundations for future careers in the construction industry.

Year 10 Concept to Reality (Computer-Aided Design) - Portable Board Game Project

This semester, Year 10 students have been challenged to redesign a traditional board game into a compact, portable version, with the completed project required to fit within maximum dimensions of 150 mm x 150 mm.

Students began by researching existing board games and analysing how they work. Their challenge was to redesign these games so that everything, including the game board, playing pieces and storage, could be contained within a single box that is easy and safe to transport. To achieve this, students explored ideas such as foldable boards, removable components, sliding trays, storage compartments and locking mechanisms.

After researching and generating ideas through sketching, students used Autodesk Inventor (CAD software) to create detailed 3D models of their designs. They then produced technical drawings and realistic computer renders before preparing their projects for manufacture using our laser cutter.

This project follows the same design process used by engineers, product designers and manufacturers in industry. Students learned how to identify problems, develop creative solutions, communicate ideas digitally and refine designs before production.

The final products demonstrate how students can take an idea from research and sketching, through computer modelling and manufacturing, to create a fully functional, self-contained board game that is both practical and enjoyable to use. Each design is original and unique to the individual student, reflecting their own creativity, problem-solving skills and design decisions throughout the project.

Simon Entwistle & John Matthews, Head of Technologies