Design and Art

"You Can't Use Up Creativity, the More You Use the More You Have"

Maya Angelou

Head of Faculty: Ms. Britton-Field

Our Vision

As an Artsmark Gold school we have been recognised for our innovative, diverse curriculum, enriched with partnerships and creative connections beyond the classroom.

In Design + Art we believe that every student is an artist. Our inclusive Design and Art curriculum embeds a solid foundation of artistic skills and processes. Projects explore a variety of relevant themes and have been developed in direct response to the real world interests of our students.

In Design+Art we celebrate creative connections. Our innovative, interdisciplinary curriculum brings together Art, Craft and Design disciplines. Our focus is to empower all our young designer-artists to feel the value of creative thinking in their future lives, and be confident to go forth and enrich the world with new ideas. Our designers-artists see that they are part of a wider community of practice, and make the most of opportunities to collaborate with other contemporary makers.

Our Curriculum

Through working creatively and collaboratively our students develop a toolkit of ways to think and make. In projects rich with diverse Art historical references we learn to appreciate and value images and artefacts across times and cultures, and to understand the contexts in which artists and designers create. Students also reflect critically on their own practice. At KS4 and beyond the students have opportunities to apply their own personal visual language in a variety of sustained and developed coursework projects.

Key Stage 3

At Key Stage 3, pupils study a curriculum which is defined by three core components, Design, Craft and Art. In doing so they gain a grounding in national curriculum concepts in both the Art and Design Technology curriculum. Pupils gain familiarity with a range of historical and contemporary artists. Fundamentally, they explore a range of creative methods, in the pursuit of producing creative, innovative works.

	TOPICS AND KEY IDEAS
YEAR 7	DESIGN: Future Cities How do designers create ideas through visuals and text? ART: Portraiture and Abstraction Why do artists choose to paint unrealistically? CRAFT: Drawing Nature How are craftspeople inspired by the natural world?
YEAR 8	DESIGN: Sneakerheads How do designers meet a clients wants and needs? ART: Pop Art How did Pop Art break the rules of high culture? CRAFT: Under the Microscope How can craftspeople engage with Science?
YEAR 9	DESIGN: Sneakerheads How do designers meet a clients wants and needs? ART: Making a Statement Can Art change the world? CRAFT: Organic Ceramic How can Craft respond to global issues ?

Key Stage 4

At Key Stage 4, our pupils have the opportunity to continue their study of Art at GCSE. Most opt for the GCSE Course in Fine Art (Edexcel Specification). Some pupils in Year 11 are pursuing a Photography or Graphics Pathway.

YEAR 10

GCSE Art, Craft and Design - Introduction

What skills can we use to articulate our ideas?

Project 1: The Environment

How can we respond to the world around us?

Project 2: Identity

How do we make personal Art?

YEAR 11

Project 2: Identity

How do we make personal Art?

Coursework Consolidation

Portfolio Making

Externally Set Exam Project

Assessment

In Art ad Design, we utilise 4 components as the basis of Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 assessment:

Generating ideas
Making
Evaluation
Knowledge

We assess an ongoing portfolio of tasks from pupils, providing regular formative feedback. Twice a year we aggregate those assessments to provide a formal report for families.

At Key Stage 4 we use a similar model. Mock examinations - which we call our 'Making Days' are held twice - Once in Year 10, Once in Year 11 - with the aim of supporting pupils towards the style of assessment at Key Stage 4.

Homework

Pupils receive regular homework at Key Stage 4. This is aimed at completing portfolio tasks. Pupils are invited to attend the open studio dates weekly to support their home based learning.