At John Whitgift academy in Food and Cookery, pupils will learn to work confidently, within a range of topics related to food and nutrition including, healthy eating, lifestyle factors, and consumer choices. They will be encouraged to take creative risks when making design decisions and consider additional factors such as environmental, cost, quality, and safety. They will research the health and wellbeing, cultural, religious, and socio-economic contexts of their intended users and understand how to reformulate design problems given to them by designing recipes that respond to needs in a variety of situations.

The pupils will combine ideas from a variety of sources, use a variety of approaches, for example the dietary needs of people of different ages and backgrounds. They are encouraged to develop and communicate their ideas using annotated sketches and cook sample dishes. The pupils will be able to select and safely use a range of equipment, utensils, and develop their skills in cooking and food safety. 

In year 7 the key learning aims are to introduce pupils to all aspects of food -based health and safety. Develop their knowledge of a range kitchen equipment and their uses. Pupils will gain practical experience of preparing and cooking a range of healthy food. They will develop their language skills by creating a Sensory word bank and using this to be able to evaluate their own work.

In year 8 the pupils will develop their expertise in cooking a range of healthy dishes that are popular classics from takeaway restaurants and shops. The pupils will learn how to cook these using fresh ingredients and gain knowledge in why freshly cooked food is healthier than processed alternatives.

They will develop their knowledge of macronutrients and micronutrients as well as how to interpret food labelling to help them make informed choices about the food they choose to eat.

In year 9 pupils will complete a project on the wider issues of how factors can affect peoples’ choices about the food they eat. They will investigate a wide range of factors and issues such as diet, religion, community- based restrictions, dietary needs, as well as design and cook a recipe to address these needs.