About the course

Food Skills is taught to Key Stage 3 students once a week. They follow the same recipes and a similar curriculum as Key Stage 4 students who follow the BTEC Level 1/2 Award in Home Cooking Skills. (This award is approved for students aged 14 to 16.)

Students develop:

• their knowledge, understanding and confidence to cook meals at home
• an understanding of how to economise when planning a meal
• an ability to transfer skills learned to different recipes
• an ability to inspire others by transferring that knowledge.

This course of study provides our students with valuable life skills, prepares them for potentially working towards their Level 1 or 2 award at Key Stage 4, and covers the national curriculum. 

What will students learn?

• How to cook a variety of meals, mainly savoury, from different cultures and countries
• Health and safety in the kitchen
• The history of different dishes
• Economising and batch-cooking
• Nutritional values and label-reading
• Healthy alternatives
• Different diets, for example, vegetarian. 

Students will regularly develop fundamental cooking skills such as chopping, slicing, bringing food to a simmer, to help reinforce their understanding and confidence in cooking at home. 

Click on the link to view our KS3 Food Skills curriculum map. 

Extra-curricular opportunities

Students have the opportunity to choose Food Skills as a curriculum offer option on a Friday afternoon.

Student assessment

Students’ written work is marked regularly, and they receive verbal feedback in lessons.