Food And Catering
At Burnholme cooking has never been off the curriculum and indeed we are proud to say that we want all our students to know how to cook a range of dishes by the time they complete Key Stage 3. The skills taught will mean they are confident and safe in a kitchen and are well prepared to take the subject further. Students undertake the Licence to Cook programme and cover elementary health and Hygiene and move on to basic nutrition and diet. Students will also have lessons covering the topics of budgeting and shopping. Throughout years 7 and 8 students will develop basic skills in the kitchen and where possible develop and practice recipes that they have chosen to fit a particular brief. Students will be encouraged to evaluate their own efforts and assess their own progress at regular intervals. In year 9 students will undertake an in depth study into special diets, they will study meat alternatives such as Soya protein and Quorn® and produce a variety of vegetarian dishes. At this stage students will develop a greater knowledge of nutrition and diet and be able to understand fully the important relationship between diet and health. At Key Stage 4 in the Food department students take the WJEC Catering GCSE. The course is a skill based GCSE linked to the catering industry in a number of ways. During the course students will visit a hotel to see first hand some of the many diverse applications catering has in a large setting. Students will also visit a small gourmet restaurant to see how the industry operates at the other end of the market. In the school students will see for themselves how the school diner operates and benefit from guest speakers such as Environmental Health officers and professional caterers. This is a hands on GCSE so from an early stage students are able to demonstrate their skills in the kitchen with several projects; from making mince pies for a charity coffee morning to planning, cooking and serving a three course meal for the Young Chamber of Commerce. The level of skills shown in the recent GCSE practical assessment was very high, with many students achieving excellent grades. Key Stage 3 – LICENCE TO COOK
Key Stage 4 – CATERING GCSE