Technology, Vocational, Information and Business Education

Welcome to the TVIBE Faculty. 

The subjects delivered in the Faculty comprise Technology at KS3, KS4 and KS5, Vocational Education (BTEC) at KS4 and KS5, IT and Computer Science at KS3, KS4 and KS5, Business Studies and Economics at KS4 and KS5.

The Faculty has classrooms, IT suites and workshops on all three sites across the campus.

The Head of Design and Technology is Mr W Thomas.

The Technology Department consists of six highly-qualified teachers and one support technician who deliver various Technology options across all the Key Stages.  

At Key Stage 4, students can study the new Design and Technology GCSE, allowing them to develop products in a material area of their preference.

Students with an interest in Electronics or Engineering can also opt to study our very popular Level 2 (GCSE Equivalent) courses in Systems and Control (Electronics) and Engineering in Manufacture.

In the Food specialism students can study GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition for three years at KS4.

Students have the opportunity to study for Art Textiles over three years at KS4.

We also offer a Level 1 Certificate in Engineering Technology to students in Years 10 and 11 by invitation.  All other Key Stage 4 subjects operate as a three-year option.

Whilst there is a large practical element to these courses there is also a wide-ranging theoretical background to each Design and Technology area that students must master, and a requirement for students to produce evidence of the design process by way of portfolios.

Students make extensive use of IT and computer-based design and manufacturing in all stages of the curriculum and the department works with cutting edge technology in at every key stage.

Interactive whiteboards, CAD and CAM systems, two laser cutters, 3D Scanners and seven 3D printers are available to teaching staff in specialist rooms.  The department also has access to its own specialist IT suites as well as four very well-equipped workshops, two specialised food rooms and a textiles classroom.

In the last two years the department has won prizes in the National Starpack Competition for Graphics, Fluor Inter-Schools Engineering Challenge and is ranked 6^th out of 300+ schools in the national Greenpower electric race car competition.

The College also competed in the TV series of Robot Wars on BBC2, aired in 2017.

The College also has strong links with local engineering firms, and students have worked with engineers from Fluor, URT Composites and Fraser Nash Research in after-College STEM activities.

There is a large variety of extra-curricular activities offered, including Robot Wars Robotics club, D&T club, cookery competitions, Greenpower electric race car club and various STEM activities organised for Personal Development Days and the College's More Able Programme.

The Head of Vocational Education is Mr W Burton.

The aim of the Vocational Education (VE) Department is to follow the Applied Learning ethos of ‘learning by doing’.  As such, the VE Department offers a wide range of business and vocational courses.  The department offers a range of Level 3 BTEC courses in Health and Social Care, Business and Travel.  The Level 2 course available is BTEC Child Development.

All subjects are delivered by specialist teachers and students have computer access every lesson.  Rooms throughout the department are equipped with interactive whiteboards.  The VE Department’s teaching is practically based, and many educational visits are undertaken by the department.  These visits enhance the students' understanding of the subjects they are taught. 

The department is proud of its industrial links which include The Hogs Back Brewery, Go Ape, local care homes and primary schools, the Merlin Group and Procter and Gamble.

The department also offers a wide range of extra-curricular activities.  We also take part in national competitions such as The Student Investor Challenge.

The Head of Vocational, IT and Business Education is Mr M Powell.

The VIBE Department consists of four IT and Computing specialist teachers and five Business and Economics teachers.  All are fully dedicated to raising standards in their specific subject areas and have contributed to the department’s excellent reputation for achieving outstanding examination results at all levels. 

A wide range of IT examination courses are run including GCSE and A Level Computer Science and Cambridge Nationals in Creative iMedia.  There is a strong emphasis on programming in all years and some students are now writing their own applications.

Within Business Education we offer both Business Studies and Economics at GCSE and A Level.  Students studying Business Studies and Economics will have the chance to take part in a number of visits to organisations to enrich their experiences of the subject.  There is also the chance to become involved in national competitions such as The Bank of England ‘Target 2.0’ competition and IFS Student Investor.

The department is well resourced with three thirty-station IT suites and five twenty-station suites, all of which are predominantly used by the VIBE Department. 

The department’s ethos is to provide students with the opportunity to experience a range of hardware devices and software packages.  Consequently, learning is supported by industry-standard and open source software.