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Raffles Girls' School

Design & Technology

Explore how the Design & Technology curriculum sparks creativity through hands-on making, design thinking, and technology.

Last updated 5 August 2026

Design & Technology

Our Design & Technology curriculum is designed to fire the imagination of our students as they go through the creative design process to conceptualise and create an artefact that is aesthetically pleasing and functional, in response to an authentic design situation. This is done through interacting with the physical world, manipulating materials and applying technology creatively and innovatively.

Learning Outcomes

Design

  • Approach problem-solving with a design approach framed by the design process

  • Apply design thinking tools to arrive at a creative yet practical solution

  • Appreciate the iterative nature of the design process

Materials and Processes

  • Experiment with and prototype ideas using appropriate materials and tools (both traditional and digital) safely

  • Build quick mock-ups for experimenting and evaluating ideas

  • Understand properties of materials and how they affect the way in which materials are used

  • Work with at least one resistant material from each classification in a safe manner

  • Plan the steps for prototyping

Technology

  • Describe the use of mechanisms in conversion and transmission of motion in everyday products

  • Create simple mechanisms to explain the need for structures in everyday life

  • Recognise the use of different methods of reinforcing structures

  • Create structures that are rigid and stable

  • Independently trouble-shoot simple problems in a mechatronics system

  • Creatively apply technology to realise the solution of a chosen design problem

  • Develop a hands-on understanding of controller technology and use common electronics components (project-driven outcome)

  • Independently learn new skills and knowledge needed to realise a design idea

Programmes

Overview of Design and Technology Year 1 Topics

Year 1

Design
* Design Thinking
* Communicating Design Ideas

Materials and Process
* Working Safely with Tools and Machines
* Properties of Materials

Technology
* Electronics, Mechanisms and Structures

Gallery

Students in uniforms gather around a laptop in a classroom, while others work at nearby tables.

(Post-Exam Activity) A collaboration between the D&T unit and Robotics Club CCA for a level-wide introduction to machine learning conducted for Year 1 to 3.

A group of schoolgirls in navy uniforms posing together in a classroom with robotics kits on a table.

(HUSH-STEM Week) A collaboration between the D&T unit, Robotics Club and Infocomm Club CCAs to create an AI Chatboard using Lego EV3 and Scratch.

A group of students posing in a classroom, most holding decorated wooden boxes with small plants inside.

(Post-Exam Activity) A collaboration between the D&T unit and the New Campus Committee for the ReWood Project to repurpose fallen timbre from our Braddell campus into planters, which were made and decorated by our Year 4 students.

Several people sit at a checkered table in a craft workshop, working on art projects with paint and tools.

(Learning Journey) During a visit to co-workspaces to experience a diverse community of creatives in MOX, our students got to meet entrepreneurs and understand how they collaborate across a variety of creative disciplines.

Students in uniforms sit at desks holding glowing colorful lights in a dimly lit classroom with laptops open.

The Digital Maker workshop for Year 1 students nurtures a passion to create with technology through fun coding and making sessions.