Art & Design

'Art & Design' should be interpreted as 'Art, Craft and Design'. It covers the experience of purposeful creativity, practical skills, making connections to the work of Artists, Designers, Crafts persons and reflective, evaluative thinking.

It is important that pupils understand Art and Design as a process and a journey of the development of an idea, rather than a series of 'one-off' pieces. For this reason pupils are given sketchbooks to use in class and at home, to collect visual and other information. The work in these sketchbooks leads to the making of various art objects and the opportunity to examine and learn from the work of a range of practitioners of Art, Craft and Design.

During Years 7, 8, and 9, pupils experience a wide variety of specialisms within Art and Design. Drawing and painting is the foundation of all aspects of Art and is emphasised as the basis of work in all areas. Pupils may also experience ceramics, textiles, print, and sculptural constructions. These activities are carried out in specially equipped studios with teachers who have specialist expertise.

Key homeworks are set regularly at Key Stage 3, every three weeks. This means an average of four will be completed per term. They are seen as an extension and support to the class projects. Pupils will benefit from extending their familiarity with a wide range of Art and Design work and parents are requested to encourage their child to visit art galleries, read books, look at recommended websites and watch television programmes about Art and Design.

Key Stages 3/4 (up to and including GCSE)

Key Stage 3 – Pupils receive two lessons per week in Years 7, 8 and 9.
Key Stage 4 – Art and Design is an optional subject in Years 10 and 11. The Department currently offers GCSE Art & Design (three lessons per week) and BTEC Art and Design Level 2 (six lessons per week, equivalent to two GCSEs).

Further information can be found in the KS4 Options Booklet

Key Stage 5 (Sixth Form)

In the Sixth Form the following courses are available:

AS and A2 Level Fine Art (ART)

Further information can be found in the Sixth Form Prospectus

Mrs L Day-Young

Head of Art & Design

Gallery - Pupils at work

Gallery - Outstanding pupil work

This section is dedicated to the work of those pupils who have truly exceeded the Art Departments expectations. It clearly shows how creative and talented our pupils can be.