Art and Design

Rationale

 Art and Design make a unique contribution to school life and to the learning experience of all pupils. Art is for everyone, not only those who are considered naturally talented, since everyone is capable of creative and aesthetic responses to their environment. For this reason it is important that within a child's overall education there is an opportunity to be creative and to express individual thoughts, ideas and opinions in a variety of ways. Arts teaching should make its contribution to this by developing within pupils an awareness of their visual world and the cultures that have shaped it. Courses will promote decision making and problem-solving while also developing practical skills and the confidence to take risks. Art and Design is therefore an essential component of the curriculum for all our pupils.

Overview

Key Stage 3

Art is a fun and exciting subject where students will be able to express themselves and learn to think outside the box within their creative endeavours. We aim to help you to look closely at the world around you and to record your observations in a variety of ways. We appreciate that students joining FSG will have experienced varying degrees of art education and therefore come with a wide ranging skill base. Our focus in Year 7 therefore, is to ensure all students feel confident in their knowledge of art and recording skills. You will develop your imagination and learn to express your ideas and emotions through using a wide range of media throughout the two years of KS3. During Year 8, students will build on the skills they developed in Year 7 to explore more challenging techniques and media including photography and textiles to assist them in making the right creative choice for them when choosing GCSE options.

Key Stage 4

This course allows us to continue to provide for a flexible structure and an excellent choice of experiences, tailored to meet the needs and aspirations of each individual student. The emphasis is on achieving a balance of technical skill, personal expression and contextual knowledge, with each topic being taught and then further developed by each student’s own aspirations. This is facilitated with support and guidance from the teacher. Stand-alone workshops/events including media experiences will play a part in widening each student’s range of experiences in Year 9 and 10 before they decide upon and explore their Final Major Project starting in Term 4 of Year 10, which is completed in the autumn terms of Y11. A wide range of disciplines are available to each student from which to construct an individual programme. These include:

• Drawing
• Painting
• Sculpture
• Ceramics
• Printmaking
• Textiles
• Mixed Media
• Collage
• Digital Media
• Photography

Critical/ Historical/Contextual studies permeate all areas and visits to Visual Art Exhibitions are an essential element. Students will complete a coursework portfolio worth 60% of their overall grade and the externally set examination will make up the other 40%.

Post 16

This course allows us to continue to provide for a flexible structure and an excellent choice of experiences, tailored to meet the needs and aspirations of each individual student to enable students to stretch their artistic skills developed during their GCSE programme. The emphasis is on achieving a balance of technical skill, personal expression and contextual knowledge, with each topic being taught and then further developed by each student’s own aspirations. This is facilitated with support and guidance from the teacher. Stand-alone workshops/events including artist workshops, life drawing and other media experiences will also play a part in widening each student’s range of experiences before they decide upon and explore their Personal Investigation. The units that are studied are:

• Component 1 “Personal Investigation” – After the exploratory 4 terms experimenting with a range of media and approaches, each student then at the start of term 5 in Yr 12 generates a topic/proposal of their choice to explore in detail, including 3000 word illustrated essay. This component is worth 60% of the overall marks and completed by January of Yr 13.
• Component 2 “Externally Set Assignment” is given out on the 1st February in Yr 13 and is the exam paper with 8 starting points. Students choose one question to develop ideas during the preparatory stage and then complete a final piece in 15 hours of supervised study just after Easter in Yr 13. This element is worth 40% of the overall marks.

Extra Curricular Opportunities

The Art department values the importance of extra-curricular activities and runs a large number of trips, including Y9 Charivari workshops and Hastings as well as Y10-13 London Galleries throughout the course of the year to gain inspiration for coursework/exams. We also run lunchtime clubs, artist workshops and speaker visits as well as participating in local events and competitions across all year groups.

Online Resources

Exam Boards

GCSE - Edexcel Fine Art

A-level - AQA Fine Art

If you would like to know more about our curriculum, please do not hesitate to contact the school.