The learning and practice of art enables our learners to develop and express their ideas through a variety of media and processes. It offers a broad based course with a wide variety of sources and experiences. Ongoing development of drawing/recording skills underpins the learning and application of all media and specific methods for creating. The art curriculum also enables our learners to develop their presentation, written communication, development and research skills, including reading. Our curriculum mapping and sequences of learning challenge learners to consider the complexities of visual communication in the modern world, as well as cultural and artistic influences, at times informed through working with local projects, visiting artists and resources.
The UK had an estimated 2.29m creative industries jobs in the year to September 2021, including 1.62m permanent roles, official statistics show. A further 663,000 creative industry jobs were self-employed.
Advertising, Architecture, Art & Antiques, Crafts, Design, Digital media, Engineering, Fashion design, Games design, Graphic design, Photography
Studying art and design greatly supports all these areas as well as being a tool for developing creative thinking, practical working, research, problem solving and analysis, all useful skills that make strong links to other areas of learning.
We live in a world full of imagery and designed products, a world growing rapidly with new technologies (Apple currently employs approximately 154,000 full time employees). An eye for design, visual appreciation and an ability to create something new is a relevant attribute and one that we greatly aim to facilitate through our curriculum provision.
Art and Design encourages the individual to develop a range of skills whilst also building a personal style and making individual choices in the adaption and refinement of what has already been explored. Students are exploratory and experiment with and strengthen their use of materials and processes within different creative disciplines. We aspire to develop confident individuals who relish in their own decision making and independent application.
The Year 7 curriculum places a significant emphasis on good working practices. Projects will cover a variety of foundation skills seeking to establish and build the learners confidence with understanding and application of the key visual elements in Art: SPACE, SHAPE, LINE, FORM, COLOUR, TEXTURE, COMPOSITION. A varied and contrasting range of sources and starting points including modern artists and designers, illustration, typography and historical practice informs exploration of the visual elements. Learners also engage in applying use of their chrome books to edit scans of their work.
The Year 8 curriculum raises expectations of the students to further broaden and deepen their knowledge of artistic practices and the key elements of art: SPACE,SHAPE, LINE, FORM, COLOUR, TEXTURE through a sequence of projects that include a wide variety of Art and Design media and techniques covering 2 and 3 dimensional work. A particular emphasis upon developing skills in drawing underpins experiences. Students will engage in the exploration of the art of other cultures, understanding key influences within areas such as geometric pattern and tiling and masks. There will be an opportunity to work with a visiting artist.
The Year 9 curriculum operates as a foundation year for GCSE and promotes students applying their further growing understanding and application of SPACE, SHAPE, LINE, FORM, COLOUR, TEXTURE. Students will be encouraged to show greater knowledge, understanding and application of professional practices both in terms of the research, analysis and responses to Artists that they create and in their personal choices and approaches to working with a wide range of materials, techniques and processes as their ideas develop. Projects will encourage greater expression, confidence in use of media and the personal direction of ideas, info by sources/research.
Planning, tracking and feedback at KS3 focuses on the core areas identified in the DFE’s KS3 programmes of study:
With two components, comprising a ‘Portfolio’ and an ‘Externally set assignment’, the specification provides students with a range of creative, exciting and stimulating opportunities to develop and explore their personal interests in art and design. It allows for progression from KS3 whilst providing a strong foundation for further study at AS and A-level as well as vocational pathways. AQA 2017
Students continue to develop and deepen their knowledge, understanding and application within at least 2 of the following areas of study:
Component 1: Portfolio of work
The GCSE portfolio consists of 1 extensive unit of work covering all of the 4 assessment objectives as well as a selection of further work (60% of final grade). Students will begin working on their first unit from the start of year 10. The first portfolio topic for year 10 engages students in looking closely, exploring artefacts, the work of others and a wide range of materials and techniques. With a particular focus on surface pattern and texture students will observe artefacts from the Hampshire Cultural Trust to inform their recording, photography, drawing and painting practice. They will make personal choices in their selection of and application of media in response to sources. Students will also be exposed to the ceramics based practice of a local ceramicist.
Year 11 students initially work to evaluate, improve and extend their portfolio from year 10, developing additional/new ideas. Our current year 11 students worked with the artist Ian Murphy and the Heritage Action Zone project in Gosport Town. Furthering responses to heritage and architectural features aims to engage students in their own personal ideas and making. Remaining portfolio work aims to expose students to other themes and sources to practise the development of working with alternative media and processes.
Component 2: Externally Set Assignment
A paper is presented to the students in the January of Year 11. Students select one area of focus from seven different starting points. They then have several weeks to develop their ideas leading up to a 10 hour personal response (40% of final grade).
Assessment objectives:
With two components, comprising a ‘Portfolio’ and an ‘Externally set assignment’, the specification provides students with a range of creative, exciting and stimulating opportunities to develop and explore their personal interests in Textiles, building on their confidence and skill set, allowing for progression from KS3 whilst providing a strong foundation for further study at AS and A-level as well as vocational pathways. AQA
The same assessment objectives as above in Art & Design apply.
Students will work to apply any of the following skills and processes to develop their ideas:
Students engage in a wide breadth of research based, investigative and hands-on practice. They build their knowledge and understanding of the practice of others honing in on specific skills, processes and stimuli. Students learn to manipulate, layer and embellish surfaces and materials through the skills and processes identified above, whilst building their confidence to make personal decisions to develop their own ideas.
In year 10, students explore close up surfaces including natural forms, bone, fossils, taxidermy and insects. We work with the Hampshire Cultural Trust to have hands-on workshops with artefacts which sees students photograph and draw to inform the development of their textiles practice.
