Art

The Fourth Form

The course is designed to enrich the pupil’s personal awareness and build a fuller understanding of, and enthusiasm for, the visual arts through practical experience and basic art historical research. In the Fourth Form pupils will be introduced to Art and Design thinking, and, through drawing and other means of practical exploration, they will learn the skills of painting, sculpture, ceramics, textiles and printmaking. They will be encouraged to make links between their own work and the history of art.

GCSE

The GCSE course builds on the basic knowledge and confidence gained in the Fourth Form, and concentrates on observation and analytical skills whilst developing personal expression, critical awareness and imagination in a carefully-devised practical involvement with the disciplines of drawing and painting, sculpture, textiles, ceramics and print-making. The subject is assessed in two parts. Component I, coursework, is submitted by each candidate so as to demonstrate his or her ability to research, develop and realise ideas in two or three dimensions. It carries 60% of the marks. Component II, a question set by the Examining Board, is devised to allow candidates, working unaided, to conceive, design, organise and complete a piece of work over a fixed period of time. It carries 40% of the marks. Much of the research is undertaken in work-books, which are a vital tool and component of the course.

The Sixth Form

The Art Pre-U course is designed to be a natural progression from GCSE work. If you choose this subject, you will continue to explore ideas through a wide range of media and approaches, making full use of a variety of methods of recording, analysing, developing and realising your intentions. There will be opportunities for you to work in drawing, painting, printmaking (lino, wood-cut, etching), sculpture, ceramics and textiles. All work will be backed up by work-books and links with art history. Life-drawing plays a vital part in the structure of the course and each year group works from the model one evening per week.

The final assessment takes the form of coursework, an exam on a theme set by the exam board, and it includes a 3000-word art-historical component.

The goal of the course is to release your creative potential. The structure of the syllabus allows for a very wide range of responses from the traditional to the conceptual.  In addition, the course provides an ideal tool for preparing a portfolio, and for progressing to a Foundation Course at Art School.