The ethos of releasing and realising creative ideas and potential is further developed within the framework of the assessment objectives of the GCSE examinations. Pupils will continue to explore a wide range of media, responding to a number of freely interpreted themes. Recent themes have been Texture, Light and Shade, Music, The Seaside.
The pupils are encouraged to think and work independently within each theme, and they are taught relevant art history, and how to analyse it and make use of it to inform their own practice. Workbooks play a major part of this process and are vital tools to help pupils to document their thoughts, ideas and conclusions.
Pupils are encouraged to spend extra time on their coursework projects, and to this end two activity slots per week per year group are allocated to them, though they may use the studios whenever they wish.
The GCSE is a fun, informative, highly creative, personal course where pupils achieve high standards and, most importantly, feel proud of their achievements. They will make a number of visits to sites or galleries during the course to further broaden their experiences. There is a themed, timed, taught examination set by the board. A selection of the best GCSE work is exhibited on Speech Day.