Food

"Food is at the centre of our history and development, as well as being key to so much of contemporary culture, celebration and everyday life"

Ruth Ashbee

Staff members 

Miss N Hussain (Head of Department)
Mrs M Abbs-Rowe

Subject Definition

Food is a subject where students are taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating whilst developing skills that enables students to feed themselves and others affordably now and later on in life.

Food is about students drawing on knowledge of nutrition, health and dietary requirements, equipment and techniques, and the characteristics of ingredients.

This is to promote knowledge in a number of areas such as nutrition, health, equipment, ingredients, components of recipes and skills.

Subject Purpose

Everyone needs to consume food on a daily basis; our aim is to develop an understanding of food, healthy eating, food purchasing, storage, preparation and making skills so that they can make informed decisions in adult life about food that they are consuming.

Food by its very nature is a creative practical and fun subject.  It allows students to be imaginative and hands on.  Students use their skills to solve real life human need problems in a variety of contexts.  It is the only subject where students actually get an edible end product to take home to family after an hour’s lesson.  Producing a product that is then taken home and shared with family and friends gives students a real sense of achievement and self-worth, with all ability students are able to achieve.

600,000 men and 600,000 women are living with the after effects of a stroke. Over 1.6 million men and over 1 million women are living with CHD. Overall CVD is estimated to cost the UK economy 19 billion - 46% direct healthcare costs, 34% productivity losses and 20% to informal care of people with CVD, (HEART UK).

Teaching students how to be well informed consumers can have a huge impact on their later life i.e. the ability to understand food labels and nutritional information on packaging will help to make informed decisions on the products that they select and eat.

An understanding of nutrition and food ultimately fuels better academic success across the curriculum thus benefitting the whole school and will help to address the health concerns of the nation.

The practical skills gained will support students in later life and beyond the realms of the classroom and encourages healthy eating both within themselves and challenges the choices that are made as a family.

Students demonstrate the knowledge they have acquired about such things as preparing food for people with different dietary needs or different ethnic backgrounds, and cooking food that is ethical and ecologically sustainable.

Good Food teaching supports and complements many other curriculum subjects: Maths, Science, PE, Computing, Art and Media.

All students can achieve in food through the high-level teaching and learning in the KS3 Curriculum and GCSE Food preparation and nutrition lessons.

For many they see Food as a fun subject for all students. Food helps students to adapt, be flexible and change to situations that occur, making them more resilient to finding solutions to problems that occur in their lives.

Working as a team in a practical environment makes students aware of others around them and helps to develop the skills of consideration, courtesy and communication.

Producing a product that is then taken home and shared with family and friends gives students a real sense of achievement and pride, all ability students are able to achieve this feeling of self-worth as they complete their dishes.

The practicality of the subject gives students the opportunity to work with their hands and to develop manipulative skills.  This really suits all students; it allows them to move around in lesson time, rather than to be confined by a desk, they have fun in lessons and are driven by the excitement of learning new skills and using new equipment.

Students learn to cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes and develop a repertoire of food that they can prepare and cook confidently and competently on their own.  Students also learn how to critically reflect and think about current social and global issues in order to be make choices about food and nutrition.

Through lessons students will become active and informed citizens when living independently or with others.  Students will lead a longer and healthier life as a direct result of our food curriculum.