Page 114 - Bellfort Magazine 2024

The Home Economics department continues to be a very busy department providing a variety of
subjects throughout the various keystage groups. It is a subject that many students look forward
to the practical aspect where they develop their cookery skills and the excitement of making
something new. Throughout the year we include a variety of savoury and sweet dishes to
highlight the importance of cooking at home and also how buying ingredients to cook at home is
the cheaper option due to the current cost of living.
Cookery club ran throughout the year for our junior school students. We had a large turnout of
students who really enjoyed this extra time in the kitchen. Our year 10 took part again in the
annual ‘Chocolate Cake Competition’ with many super bakes being turned out of the oven and
great ideas being showcased by our talented bakers!
Year 11 also got involved in a baking competition making and decorating a Yule log. Again lots of
thought was given to the style and decorations used. Although cookery does not feature in
keystage 5 the students still like to get involved in a cupcake decorating competition. This year
we went for a Christmas theme and the girls had great fun working on their masterpieces before
they enjoy eating them! Congratulations to all our winners from each year group.
Year 11 Food Preparation thoroughly enjoyed a Hospitality Take Over Day at Leighinmohr House
Hotel organised by Springboard. The students were able to get a taster of working in the
hospitality industry by taking part in a variety of workshops, including a Culinary
Challenge, Mocktail Making Session, Silver Service, Table Set Up and Local Attractions Itinerary
Planning. The students obtained lots of information and the event helped to highlight the wide
variety of jobs available within the hospitality and tourism industry.
The Livestock and Meat Commission also came into school on several occasions this year to
complete cookery demonstrations to our keystage 4 students. This illustrated the importance of
Farm Quality Assurance when purchasing beef and lamb and was useful for our GCSE students
as the talk covered a variety of topics from their course. The GCSE Food and Nutrition class also
benefitted from a talk by a final year student dietician, Chloe Robinson who shared her
knowledge on the importance of diet, which was a great help for our students embarking on
their controlled assessment. The pupils went on to plan and create very successful dishes
suitable to the controlled assessment title.
Our Year 12 Child Care and Year 13 Children’s Play Learning and Development class also
benefitted from a visit from Eileen Russell, who is a play therapist from Waymaker. It was very
interesting to learn about the value and importance of play for children and how it should be
encouraged in the curriculum for all areas of development.
Our A level students in Children’s Play Learning and Development and Health and Social Care
were involved in placements in local nursery and primary schools. This allowed our students to
work alongside and gain valuable insight into working in a school environment. We are very
grateful to the numerous settings for letting our students gain access to their school and
develop their skills and knowledge.