Design and Technology, a favourite subject for many at school. However, new research has shown that the GCSE uptake in DT has plummeted by 68%over the past decade, with one in five schools across England and Wales no longer offering the subject at all. The take up of Design and Technology here in the North East, is the lowest in the UK.
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00:00Research also found that less than half of students aged 13 to 19 feel that their current
00:05curriculum adequately prepares them for technological futures, while almost a quarter believe that
00:10DT doesn't actually give them the skills necessary to make meaningful societal changes.
00:17There are 1.6 million designers and nearly 2 million people working in the design industry
00:21here in the UK, with an additional 2.5 million people that use design skills in their roles
00:26according to a new report. But what do you think? Is design and technology an important
00:30subject to take at GCSE? And why do you think the North East has the lowest amount of pupils
00:34choosing to study it?
00:35It's just not fashionable. I think the youngsters of today just want easy money.
00:39When you look sort of at the last government and their focus towards subjects that what
00:45they deem is useful, I don't really think it's that much of a surprise. I think possibly
00:49schools encourage kids to go for more STEM subjects. And obviously we do have that pressure
00:56from members of parliament as well. So I do think there needs to be more of a push for
01:01education to be sort of a creative outlet rather than just, you know, a next step.
01:06I mean, I did design technology. I really enjoyed it. But I think maybe it's like targeted
01:11as or kind of like looked at as a less academic or like maybe less like kind of important
01:17GCSE. I think sometimes like when you're in school, you're pushed to do very like, I don't
01:22like computer science or something that's a little bit more like academic. But I wouldn't,
01:29I don't know why people would necessarily choose it less kind of thing.
01:33Everything like that, you've got to go out of the North East to get it. It needs investment
01:38in the North East, but it's never happened. I don't think it ever will happen. We're just
01:41a poor relation to the North, aren't we? I mean, the government thinks everything north
01:44of Watford Gap, we're still fighting people in kilts.