Art, Design & Photography
The Art Department benefits from a purpose built art and photography room with facilities for painting, drawing, print making, 3D work and a photographic studio including a bank of iMacs for digital editing of images.
Key Stage 3
At Key Stage 3, students have two Art lessons a week. During Years 7-8 the pupils learn and practice the techniques of drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, graphics, photoshop and sculpture. New skills are introduced through themed projects which cover a variety of cultures, art movements and artists. In Year 9, previously taught skills and techniques are reinforced, and enhanced with more sophistication and refinement. Pupils are also given the opportunity to develop their knowledge of photography and digital editing.
GCSE
At GCSE pupils can specialise in either Art, Craft and Design or Photography. The two courses have been designed to encourage an adventurous and enquiring approach to the subject with a flexible syllabus for pupils to develop their own work in a more independent way, especially in Year 11. Experimentation and research enables the development of ideas and personal interpretations of a theme, which will in turn lead to the production of many possibilities and drive towards an accomplished outcome. Sketchbooks are an essential part of the coursework to demonstrate the journey of their discovery through investigation and research, development of ideas by experimentation. This allows the pupils to record their visual thoughts and analyse of artists and photographers.
Enrichment Activities
Pupils in years 10 -11 have the opportunity to participate in a variety of extracurricular art and photography activities. One session per week allows small groups to work on building skills taught during art lessons but also to experiment with new media as part of the schools enrichment program.
