Art Department

• Introduction
• GCSE Art
• AS & A2 Art and Design (including Photography)
  

Introduction

Art Education gives pupils the skills that will become increasingly important to their future development both in the workplace and during their leisure time. Aesthetic awareness will heighten and improve a pupil’s personal perception of the world and their reactions and responses to it. This makes Art and Design as a way of learning, unique within the curriculum and an increasingly valued qualification by both universities and employers.

Through critical analysis pupils will learn to understand and enjoy the multicultural and historical contexts in which works of art are created and will be able to communicate this knowledge articulately. They are required to work independently and to sustain a response from a given brief to its realisation, identifying and resolving problems and developing a final outcome.

Art is a language of visual symbols, the formal elements of which (line, tone, colour, pattern, texture, shape, form and space) can be learnt as in any language, and similarly forgotten if not used. To really excel however, pupils need the same high level of theoretical and practical intellect required for any other area of the curriculum. It is also a subject that needs to go beyond the limitations of the timetable and requires pupils to make use of the extra department activities offered within the Art School. It should not therefore, be seen as an easy option, but a very rewarding one.

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GCSE Art

Through visits to galleries, museums and art history lectures they are introduced to a range of art, craft and design from past cultures as well as the present, including European and non-Western examples. Their response to these examples is shown through practical and critical activities and pupils are required to keep work journals for the collection and processing of visual information and ideas. Pupils generally choose to work in at least two of the following areas of general art and design and also explore combinations of areas which may include:

• Drawing and Painting: Pencils, charcoal, pastels, pen & ink, water colour, oil, acrylic and collage processes.

• Graphics: Airbrush work, computer aided design, calligraphy, package design and illustration, digital technology and manipulation.

• Textiles : Fabrics, appliqué, batik, tie dye, paper making, pattern design, printing, embroidery, weaving, collage, fashion design, constructed textiles.

• Three dimensional studies : Carved, modelled, constructed, clay, mixed media, assemblage, card, plaster, wood, stone and concrete.

• Print making : Lino cut, silk screen and relief printing, lithography, etching, mono-printing.

• Photography : Colour, black and white developing as well as print processing techniques and experimentation, digital image manipulation, using photoshop and other software packages.

The GCSE exam comprises an externally set assignment. Students have eight weeks to produce initial research, preparatory sheets, and work journal towards a final outcome. The 10-hour exam carries a weighting of 40%. Students also have to submit a portfolio with two units of 60% coursework by the deadline of the start of the Summer Term.

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AS and A Level Art and Design (including Photography)

Art and Design enables students to experience a whole range of new processes and materials and to appreciate various Art forms in a contemporary as well as in an historical context. Students explore and expand their visual language to a high level which is ideal preparation for Further Education in general, or an Art Foundation course. We are also offering Photography as an endorsement of the Edexcel Art and Design course and students may opt to take this route through to A2 level. It is taught using the same course structure and themes as outlined below but students produce all work photographically exploring digital and darkroom techniques.

This is an academic subject that demands time and thought and it is expected that students will have achieved at least a B grade at GCSE. Students will require commitment, drive and enthusiasm and a desire to design appropriate solutions to practical problems. The AS Level may be taken as a stand-alone examination; it is hoped however that students continue to take the full A Level qualification.

The course is flexible although built around a structured programme of units which go towards achieving an AS qualification in the first year and a full A Level in the second year of the course. Drawing is the benchmark of any artists' work and to this end the College runs a seven week Life Drawing class during the first term. This not only aids drawing skills but also gives students the necessary confidence and maturity required to excel in Art and Design.

In the Lower Sixth there are two units: Art and Design (duration 16 weeks plus 12 hours vacation work). (60% of AS which is externally moderated and 30% of A level which is internally set and marked). Unit 2 is an externally set assignment (40% of AS externally moderated and 20% of A Level which is internally set and marked).

Unit 1

Students prepare initial ideas and select one to research and develop further based on a set but open theme. They revisit and explore the formal elements of art and design and are supported through an initially structured programme of gathering visual information. Through a variety of media and techniques they refine skills and ideas towards a series of outcomes or outcome, which demonstrates their own personal ideas in more depth. The coursework unit is divided into blocks, which enables students to plan out work for each of the 4 Assessment Objectives. Students will be required to produce a body of practical work with thorough investigation, covering all 4 Assessment Objectives. There is an interim assessment of this unit and weekly tutorials and feedback to ensure development and progression culminating with a ‘Work in Progress’ exhibition.

Unit 2

Set by Edexcel, details are made available from the January of the Lower Sixth year. Students develop their knowledge, skills and understanding gained from Unit 1 and during the preparatory studies period, should generate ideas from the theme, investigating a wide range of appropriate primary and other sources. Their developing ideas and exploratory visual work will be subject to ongoing critical review. All work produced during the preparatory period may be used during the Externally Set Assignment and supporting studies must be submitted with the timed element of unaided work produced under examination conditions over a period of eight hours. The external assessment takes place in the summer examination series only.

In the Upper Sixth there are two further units:

Unit 3

This unit incorporates two elements, the practical work and the personal study and is 30% of the A level; this is internally set and marked and externally moderated. Set prior to the beginning of the Upper Sixth year, students begin work on a selected and negotiated theme or focus for the unit. Students are required to link work produced for both the practical and personal study elements, which are to be seen as integrated and supporting each other.

Work for the practical study requires students to realise an outcome/outcomes to a clearly identified area of study, arising from their current interests and experiences in art, craft and design, together with knowledge, skills and understanding gained from earlier units. Students are to initiate and develop their own personal creative and focused ideas.

The personal study will require students to produce an illustrated dissertation on a selected aspect of others’ art, craft and design. This can be in any format they wish; film, website, essay etc. Students are required to research, evaluate, analyse and establish coherent and sustainable links between their own practical work for this unit with that of historical and contemporary references. There is an interim assessment of this unit and weekly tutorials and feedback to ensure development and progression culminating with a ‘Work in Progress’ exhibition.

Unit 4

The final unit is worth 20% of the A Level and is externally set, internally marked and externally moderated. Again set by Edexcel with details are made available from the January of the Upper Sixth year. Students must respond to the theme from the Externally Set Assignment and produce their own creative outcome(s). Students will build upon their knowledge, skills and understanding gained from their experiences in Unit 3. Preparatory work with supporting studies must be submitted with the timed element of unaided work produced under examination conditions over a period of twelve hours. The external assessment takes place in the summer examination series only

Higher Education and Career Opportunities

This course is excellent preparation for the many career choices in the field of Art, Craft and Design and most of these expect students to undertake further study at Art College or other similar establishments. Currently, the majority of students wishing to pursue an art-based career usually complete a one year full time 'Foundation' course at Art College before pursuing a degree in a specialist area of study such as Graphic Illustration, Three Dimensional Package Design or Photographic Journalism. This course will provide students with transferable skills - an ideal preparation for a career in any area or job; and a good reason for doing AS or A Level Art. The following are just a few of the specialist careers that are available to students of Art and Design:

Advertising	Animation	Antiques	Architecture
Beauty Therapy	Blacksmithing	Bookbinding	Ceramics
Community Arts	Computer Graphics	Conservation	Decorative Arts
Display/Exhibition	Eco Design	Embroidery	Fashion Design
Fashion Marketing	Fashion/Textiles	Fine Art	Foot Wear
Furniture	Gallery Administration	Garment Manufacture	Gilding
Glass	Graphic Illustration	History of Art	Industrial Design
Interior Design	Jewellery/Silver	Journalism	Knit Wear
Landscape Architecture	Media	Metalwork	Model making
Multimedia	Museum/Exhibition Design	Package Design	Performing Arts
Photography	Printing	Product Design	Public Art
Publishing	Restoration	Sculpture	Spatial Design
Special Effects	Sports Design	Surface Pattern	Theatre
Time-Based Media	Transport Design	Typography	Video Production

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