Art

Studying Art at any level should be a time of creative enlightenment, a time for students to really discover their potential, but also how to express their own interpretation of the world around them.

Teachers

Mrs S Cox – Head of Art

Mr P Watkins – Teacher of Art

Phase 2 (Years 7 and 8)

At Phase 2 (Years 7 and 8), a high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge students, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As students’ progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Throughout their time in Phase 2, students learn and understand about the formal element of Art. This is delivered within lessons in a number of different ways such as individual, standalone pieces through to sustained projects. There is a holistic approach but students are required to cover research, observational drawings, and development of ideas which will result in students producing personal and meaningful responses.

Phase 3 (Years 9 -11)

At Phase 3 (Years 9-11), students study Art, Craft and Design, which build upon the key skills learnt at Phase 2. This promotes learning across a variety of experiences and through various processes, tools, techniques, materials and resources to generate different kinds of evidence of working and outcomes.  This allows students to develop knowledge and understanding through a variety of learning experiences and approaches, including engagement to sources. This will allow them to develop the skills to explore, create and communicate their own ideas. 

Art, Craft and Design GCSE (Years 9, 10 and 11)

This course has been designed to allow students to develop knowledge and understanding through a variety of learning experiences and approaches. It will allow them to develop the skills to explore, create and communicate their own ideas. Students will demonstrate these skills through the development, refinement, recording, realisation and presentation of their ideas through a portfolio and by responding to an externally set assignment.

Students must explore and create work associated with areas of study from at least two from the following: Fine art, Graphic communication, or Three-dimensional design.

Component 1: Portfolio

A portfolio shows explicit coverage of the four assessment objectives. It must include a sustained project evidencing the journey from initial engagement to the realisation of intentions and a selection of further work undertaken during the student’s course of study. Each student must select and present a portfolio representative of their course of study. The portfolio must include a sustained project developed in response to a subject, theme, task or brief evidencing the journey from initial engagement with an idea(s) to the realisation of intentions. This will give students the opportunity to demonstrate, through an extended creative response, their ability to draw together different areas of knowledge, skills and/or understanding from across their course of study. A selection of further work resulting from activities such as trials and experiments; skills-based workshops; mini and/or foundation projects; responses to gallery, museum or site visits; work placements; independent study and evidence of the student’s specific role in any group work undertaken.

Component 2: Externally set assignment

Students respond to their chosen starting point from an externally set assignment paper relating to their subject title, evidencing coverage of all four assessment objectives. AQA will provide a separate externally set assignment for each title, each with seven different starting points. Students must select and respond to one starting point from their chosen title. The externally set assignment provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate, through an extended creative response, their ability to draw together different areas of knowledge, skills and/or understanding in response to their selected starting point within 10 hours of supervised time.