Ratcliffe College - Sixth Form Handbook

FOOD SCIENCE
AND NUTRITION
This qualification is equivalent to 1
A Level and carries the equivalent
UCAS points to enter university at
undergraduate level.
Why choose Food Science?
Food is an essential requirement
to sustain life, a knowledge of
nutrition, diet and health is
valuable for our understanding
of society around the globe. It is
relevant to many industries and job
roles including nutritionists, sports
coaches, food manufacturers,
government agencies to develop
menus, food products and policies
that support healthy eating
initiatives.
At Ratcliffe we offer small sized
classes that will allow you to
reach your true potential in this
academic and practical course.
The course is designed to support
students’ progress to university
and beyond. It offers exciting,
interesting experiences to apply
learning through the acquisition of
knowledge and understanding in
purposeful, work-related contexts.
Related Subjects
It would be helpful if you have
studied Food Preparation and
Nutrition at GCSE Level but this is
not essential. To have a passion for
nutrition, food science and a love
of developing your practical skills
whilst working under pressure is a
must. Other subjects that link well
to Food Science and Nutrition are
Biology, Chemistry, Sports Science,
Media and Business.
Course Requirements
The normal entry into Ratcliffe
Sixth Form plus level 5 in Food
Preparation and Nutrition and a
Science. You will enjoy working
under pressure with tight time
constraints, you will be able to
work independently, relish solving
problems and be able to organise
yourself efficiently are imperative.
Further Important Information
Students will complete three units:
two mandatory and one optional.
Each unit within the qualification
has an applied purpose which acts
as a focus for the learning in the
unit. It demands authentic work
related learning in each of the
available units.
It requires students to consider
how the use and application
of their learning impacts on
themselves, other individuals,
employers, society and the
environment. You will develop;
• Skills required for independent learning
and development
• Skills to ensure your own dietary health
and well being
• A range of generic and transferable
skills
• The ability to solve problems
• Skills to allow project based
research, development and
presentation
• The ability to apply mathematical
and ICT skills
Course Details
You will complete three units: two
mandatory and one optional. Unit 1 has
a weighting of 50%, unit 2 a weighting
25% and unit 3 or 4 a weighting of 25%
Unit 1: Meeting Nutritional Needs of
Specific Groups
This will be taken in Year 12. It will
consist of a 90-minute examination,
plus 15 minutes reading time. It is
divided into three sections:
Section A is short answer questions
Section B is extended answer questions
Section C relates to a case study.
You will also complete an internal
assessment which will be externally
moderated.
Higher Education and Careers
Options
Together with other relevant
qualifications you could enter
higher education courses such as:
Food and Nutrition, Human
Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition,
Food Science and Technology and
Food Marketing and Nutrition.
Extra-curricular
You would have the opportunity
to help younger students at our
popular oversubscribed Cooking
Club.
Unit 2 – Ensuring Food is Safe to Eat
This is an eight hour timed and
supervised assessment.
Unit 3 or Unit 4
One of these units will be taken and will
be a summative controlled assessment.
Unit 3 - Experimenting to Solve Food
Production Problems
You could be investigating a topic Why
does ice cream freeze? How can we stop
cream curdling?
Unit 4 - Current Issues
Through this unit, you will develop the
skills needed to plan, carry out and
present research project on current
issues linked to food science and
nutrition. This could be from a
perspective of a consumer, food
manufacturer and/or caterer.
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