Home Economics
Welcome to the Home Economics & Health and Social Care Department in De La Salle College. We strive to create a happy, caring and creative environment where pupils and staff enjoy working together to learn new skills and develop existing skills. Home Economics is at the centre of the Northern Ireland Curriculum. It is an important STEM subject that is taught to all pupils in De La Salle in Years 8, 9 and 10.
Home Economics is a practical and academic subject that focuses on developing essential life skills related to food, nutrition, health, family life and consumer awareness.
It combines theory with hands-on learning, helping our pupils to understand how to make informed decisions about diet, budgeting, and household management.
Through cooking, nutrition studies, and problem-solving tasks, this subject prepares young males for independent living, employment, and active participation in society.
Subjects offered within our Department
KS3 Home Economics (Years 8, 9 and 10)
In Home Economics, pupils have opportunities to explore a range of topics and develop Whole Curriculum Skills and Capabilities. Pupils learn about:
Healthy Eating
Home and Family Life
Independent Living
Home Economics helps prepare young people for independent living. It is a practical subject that can promote and enhance the wellbeing of individuals, families and communities through understanding food choice, nutritional health, consumer issues and relationships. This subject strand aims to equip pupils with the knowledge, skills and values that will help them to make appropriate lifestyle choices.
The skills, knowledge and understanding developed through studying Home Economics are important in today’s society, where:
Obesity is an increasing problem
diet-related illness is prevalent
and many people rely on ready meals
KS3
At Key Stage 3 pupils are taught in mixed ability groups, following schemes of work which include a wide variety of novels, plays and poems, and material ranging from Shakespeare to the language of newspapers, leaflets and social media.
KS4
In Years 11 and 12, all pupils are prepared for the CCEA GCSE English Language examination. As in Key stage 3, our aims are to assist our pupils’ language development and to encourage them to read widely and with discrimination, a subject that further develops critical thinking, analytical writing, interpretation of complex texts, and an appreciation of cultural and historical context.
KS5
Both English Literature, and more recently English Language, are offered at AS and A2 level. English Literature invites students to study challenging units and we aim for our pupils to emerge as discerning, independent readers who are adept at critically evaluating texts. English Language students actively engage with a wide variety of spoken and written texts from both the past and present. The A levels offered by the Department develop skills and academic rigour much sought after by universities and employers.