Food and Nutrition

At a basic level, our Food and Nutrition courses help to provide our students with an important life skill. This means that they can cook for themselves and their families and understand the importance of healthy eating. However, the courses also give students the opportunity to further develop their skills so that they can aim to be the next Jamie Oliver.

Key Stage 3

Learners in Years 7, 8 and 9 study Food and Nutrition following a course that is made up of elements of practical, theory and health and safety. Learners are encouraged to discover their culinary talents in our kitchens and to build their confidence in hands-on application. Students make a variety of savoury and sweet dishes frombreads, pasta and pastries to meat and vegetarian dishes from around the world. They have the option of bringing it home or eating their creations at lunch time. Skills developed through the KS3 programme enables learners to practise their cutting, mixing, cooking and baking skills and the safe and hygienic practice of kitchen management as well as using specific tools and machinery. Personal adaptation to dishes for diets, allergies or specific tastes is always encouraged and provided for.

Key Stage 4

Learners who opt to progress to the GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition course complete three lessons per week in Year 10 and 11. The course is designed for those who want to progress into the Food and Nutrition industry, however many choose this option because they enjoy cooking and they see it as an important skill for their adult life. Learners predominantly make high skill dishes. In January or February year 11 learners work on the NEA set by the exam board, researching, planning and creating three high skilled dishes and accompaniments in 3 hours. Learners build theory based knowledge on nutrition, science of food, safety and hygiene through theory only sessions and their practical application.

Year 11 NEA example:

Lasagne with homemade pasta, chicken roulade served with heart shaped potatoes, green beans wrapped in bacon, and cream sauce (cutting chicken breast from a whole chicken and using the whole chicken including boiling the carcass for stock to make a sauce.) Lemon meringue pie and plaited bread. All dishes having been practised and in year 10.

Key Information

The WJEC Eduqas GCSE in Food Preparation and Nutrition equips learners with the knowledge, understanding and skills required to cook and apply the principles of food science, nutrition and healthy eating.

It encourages learners to cook, enables them to make informed decisions about food and nutrition and allows them to acquire knowledge in order to be able to feed themselves and others affordably and nutritiously, now and later in life.

This specification has been designed to enable centres to concentrate on innovative delivery of the course whilst creating a balance between practical and theoretical knowledge and understanding.

The layout of the content into six areas of content promotes flexibility of delivery, and releasing two tasks for each of the assessments that constitute the non-examination assessment will ensure learners are able to complete assessments suitable to their needs and that of the centre.

This course is aimed at pupils who are interested in any aspect of food and cookery and in the context of cooking for health. It focuses on an applied study of the food and cookery sector and learners will gain a broad understanding and knowledge of working in the sector.

It will provide pupils with an opportunity to extend and apply their skills and knowledge of the catering industry through a mixture of theoretical and practical activities.

These activities will allow pupils to develop their appreciation of food preparation at a personal level and/or with the intention of pursuing the subject as a career.

Assessment

Assessment 1: NEA1 ( Non examination assessment). Released 1 September in Year 11.

Two cooking science experiments and write approximately 2000 words.

The Food Investigation Assessment: 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 (15%)

Assessment 2: NEA2. released 1 November in Year 11.

Cook three high skill dishes and accomp in a three hour exam and complete approximately 5000 words.

The Food Preparation Assessment requires learners to prepare, cook and present a menu which assesses their knowledge, skills and understanding in relation to the planning, preparation, cooking and presentation of food. These assessments will be based on a choice of tasks released by WJEC annually (35%).

Written examination at the end of the course: 1 hour 45 minutes (50%).

Subject Information

This course shows learners how:

to prepare self and environment for cooking
food functions in the body and in recipes
to modify recipes for health for balanced diets
to assess a diet and make recommendations
to plan and produce dishes for a purpose.

Learners will know about:

safe and hygienic preparation of the cooking environment, the sources and seasonality that can affect food choices, food labels and cooking for a range of purposes.

They will develop skills:

in selecting ingredients to cook dishes
in creating menus to meet a brief
in adapting recipes for health
in evaluating their own work
in Literacy, Numeracy and ICT
that are essential for the modern workplace, such as planning, research skills, communication, problem-solving skills and health and safety.

Is this course right for me?

If you want to find out more about nutrition, foods from different cultures and develop your cookery skills then this is the course for you.

What can this lead to?

For many people, taking a catering course is more about being able to cook for themselves, their family and their friends. However this course can lead to further study of cookery or Catering at level 3, an apprenticeship or a career in the catering industry. You may even become a celebrity chef!

For further information see the following page:

https://www.eduqas.co.uk/qualifications/food-preparation-and-nutrition-gcse/#tab_overview