Students study a varied course incorporating aspects of technical drawing, craft work and product design in the junior school and move on to choose their subject speciality from currently standard grade course Graphic Communication or Craft and Design. These courses are being replaced this year by National 4 and 5 certificates in Design and Manufacture, Graphic Communication and Practical Woodworking Skills.
At present, our junior pupils study a course involving all three aspects of the subject. They also take part in an interdisciplinary project. There are two such projects, iLive and iSea, both of which are in partnership with the Irvine Bay Regeneration project.
iLive project involves the pupils designing modern social housing for Irvine. They work in our department making a house interior, exterior and a poster advertising the houses. The pupils use a variety of computer packages to produce these items and have their first project using a form of 3D modelling. Pupils are then involved in understanding area and volume wit
h the Mathematics department and create wallpaper prints with Art.
iSea project involves the pupils creating a brochure using information and research obtained in the English department. The pupils also manufacture a display base for the clay boats they create in the Art department. The artefacts created during the iSea project are put on display in the Maritime Museum in Irvine.
Both of the projects have a been a great success but in particular the iSea project which was awarded the top prize in the Technology Teachers Association Award for Best Cross-Curricular Project in 2009.
Irvine Royal Academy 
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