Art

Art in Year 7 is about covering the basics and baselining where pupils are at with their skills.  We look at the Visual Elements as a starting point and build projects around them as we ease students into their secondary Art education.

Skills around observational drawing, artist research, development and refinement of a project are all introduced through a variety of starting points and projects.  By the end of Year 7 we hope pupils will start to understand how to develop a successful project through research, development and emerging skills.

In Year 8 there is a strong focus on using different media.  It’s an experimental year where we try and enthuse pupils through the use of media in developing exciting, original projects.

Topics include Insects, Oceanic Art, Natural Forms, Cakes to name but a few.  We still follow the same procedure of observational drawing, artist research, develop/refinement, final piece, evaluation which is a good foundation for GCSE and A level projects.

Through Year 9 the focus is on the personal development of a project.  We want to encourage pupils to start to take ownership of their work and how their projects develop. This way of working builds confidence in pupils and fits nicely into the way we expect them to work at GCSE level.

Projects such as Portraiture, Gaudi, Animation, Native America all allow a certain amount of freedom for students to start to put their personal stamp on the way that their projects start to develop.  Again there is a wide array of media and materials used throughout these projects.

GCSE in Art & Design – two projects over the two years based around Islamic Art and a Snowboard design.  All their work is done in sketchbooks and develop the projects in a similar way looking at observational drawing, artists’ research and development/refinement of the projects.  They both lead to producing a large final piece for each project.  There is also a practical exam at the end of Y11 where the students choose from a series of starting points set by the exam board and produce another project based on their chosen title culminating in another final piece done in exam conditions.

Fine Art – Y12 is all about experimenting with media and subject matter to find where the student’s strengths are.  Students are encouraged to push themselves to use a variety of media and starting points to fully explore different aspects of Art.

In year 13 students choose their own theme/title and produce a body of work around that theme/title culminating in several final pieces alongside a written contextual, personal investigation.  An A level in Fine Art can lead to a variety of degree courses and is an excellent start to a career in the visual arts

Y13 students choose their own title/theme culminating in several final pieces alongside a written contextual, personal investigation.

BTEC Level 3 Diploma- Over 2 years students develop skills in a range of art forms, from fine art, photography, mixed media, ceramics and textiles, providing students with a broad base of understanding and plenty of opportunities to find their own style throughout the 8 Units. They will cover a range of units such as, materials, techniques and processes, the creative process, developing a portfolio and critical and contextual studies. This enables students to gather a broad portfolio of work to go straight into a creative degree or to start their creative career

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