Each year the deadline dates for the different sections of the coursework are reviewed by your teachers so that we can judge how you can use the time you have to your best advantage.   Obviously the half-term holidays and the end of term breaks are in slightly different places each year and for this reason the dates change a little.  We also have a coursework day planned and it is important that you are well prepared for that and achieve as much as possible in the time available.

Time is very precious in year Eleven ( and for A-Level students, year Thirteen ) as you do not have a full year in which to finish things off.  Students always have a lot of pressure from other subjects and the coursework necessary for those courses - and we are aware that Design and Technology coursework takes a long time to complete - if it is to look really good.  The deadlines are set for your benefit to make sure you finish the complete task and don't lose marks unnecessarily simply because you have not managed your own time well.  Right now it may not seem as though the deadlines are there to help you but later on it will be more obvious.

Your teachers will need to mark a number of projects and collate the marks awarded for each of the sections.  It is unrealistic to expect that this task can be done in a very short space of time. Remember that although you are only concerned with your own  project course-work, your teacher has maybe 40 or even far more such scripts to assess.

If deadlines that are given to you are not respected it may prevent your work from being marked - especially if you miss the final deadline.

Every year we ask students in year Eleven ( and for Advanced Level courses, Year Thirteen ) how they could have made their lives easier and what advice they would give to students just beginning their GCSE or A-Level courses.  Without any hesitation they all say they should have worked harder, messed around less and listened more in class-time.  Homework always features in their answers, as they also admit that it would have been much more beneficial to have used that time more wisely too.

It's a little bit sad really that everyone insists on learning how to make mistakes for themselves and students choose to ignore the benefit of advice from those who have been there, done that - and found out the problems ….  Surely you wouldn't want to find your own, new way across the marshes without a map - just because you didn't want to listen to the person telling you which way one of the best paths lay !  Sure its great to try things out and explore but choose what to experiment with and above all remember that time is running out.   

Do the exploring when you have the time - and the best way to have enough time to do that extra bit that no-one has done before is to meet the deadlines.   Then you will be able to do our own thing a little more - you may find its all a lot more enjoyable too.