Art

As a department, we encourage our students to explore their creative, investigative and observational skills. In Years 7 and 8, all students take Art and in Year 9, students can opt to continue with their Art and/or Textiles studies. We also offer the opportunity for students to study Photography at GCSE. Our courses offer all students across KS3 and KS4 a variety of opportunities to investigate new skills, techniques and media. Students look at the world around them and study different Art movements in context; they also learn to evaluate their own artwork effectively.

Please click here for the Art Curriculum Overview

Key Stage 3 Curriculum information
At KS3 we teach a variety of exciting schemes of learning which engage our students by allowing them to learn core skills as well as experimenting with a variety of Art materials. This helps them to understand their own creativity and experience working in new ways. Our students learn to competently record through purposeful drawing and to experiment with appropriate media and techniques such as painting and printing. They learn to develop their ideas through creative investigation and respond independently to a variety of stimuli. They learn to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of Art through visual and written work. Students self and peer evaluate; showing a clear understanding of how to improve their work effectively and are able to actively respond to feedback and to refine their work. This allows students to confidently access the GCSE syllabus and AQA Assessment Objectives.

Key Stage 4 Curriculum information
In Art we believe that all students should engage in a wide range of visual, tactile and sensory experiences which stimulate and encourage creative and imaginative responses. At GCSE, students utilise a wide range of equipment relevant to their chosen course. They use these materials to communicate what they see, feel and think. Students explore the Formal Elements in depth; building on their KS3 studies and combine these with a diverse range of techniques. They make informed judgements about their own work and the work of others, expressing their appreciation and understanding of a range of artists, designers, and craftspeople. They comprehend how and why humans respond to their immediate environment in diverse ways, and use this knowledge to enrich, shape and inform their own outcomes.

GCSE Art and Design – Fine Art, Textiles and Photography.
All courses are formed of a series of modular course work projects set and marked by the centre and moderated by AQA. Students can opt for only one of these subjects: either Fine Art, Textiles or Photography. Unit 1 of all options is worth 60% of the overall mark and is the coursework element; exploring practical and critical / contextual work through a range of processes in each subject. The final element of each option is the externally set project task, (Unit 2) which allows structured planning time and 10 hour supervised time at the end. This makes up the last 40% of the overall GCSE mark. All work must be in line with the four Assessment Objectives.

Careers in Art
Art Critic, advertising director (Visual Communication), animation, architect, art teacher, airbrush artist, art dealer, art consultant, cartoonist, desktop publishing, E book cover artist, fashion designer, freelance artist, fine art photographer, fine artist, fashion illustration, graphic artist, graphic design, interior design, illustration, museum director, monogram artist, photographer, painting restorer, print-maker, sculptor, set design, video game and web design, photographer (portrait/ commercial/scientific/ news/freelance) textile designer, fashion buyer.