Art
Intent Statement
Art and Design offers opportunities for students to develop their creativity, imagination and problem solving skills through visual, tactile and formal elements. Students develop techniques through experimenting with a wide range of media in response to the disciplines of Art, whilst developing practical, technical and critical skills, communicating their ideas, feelings and meanings in response to the work of artists and designers.
Curriculum
The Art Curriculum has been specifically designed with content to develop and strengthen students’ creativity, visual literacy, problem solving skills, cultural and contextual understanding of the world around them. The content has been selected to underpin these areas and challenge all students at all levels, at all times. Students develop techniques through experimenting with a wide range of media in response to the disciplines of Art, whilst developing practical, technical and critical skills, communicating their ideas, feelings and meanings in response to the work of artists and designers. Art is a key subject in providing character education to support students’ wider development. Students learn to appreciate and value images and artefacts across times and cultures and to understand the contexts in which they were made. We encourage students to research a range of historic and contemporary artists from a variety of fields.
KS3
Year 7 introduces the formal elements in Art. The development of the formal elements builds understanding through practical application and cultural and contextual connections.
Year 8 embeds the formal elements through experimental techniques and application, and deeper approaches to design development and refinement. Learning points are tailored to enable individual responses and more autonomy with work. Critical and analytical skills are developed through critique and evaluative work in order to strengthen the formal understanding of the Art elements.
Year 9 consolidates the formal elements and are extended through an independently led project. Drawing, experimentation, contextual learning, development and refinement and the realisation of a final piece enable students to extrapolate the knowledge and skills learnt and developed in years 7 and 8.
Completing KS3 in art and design, students are advised on what doing art for GCSE would look like so they can make an informed decision about their chosen options.
KS4
In Year 10 students will put into practice all the skills that they have acquired through a large coursework portfolio that extends, challenges and enables mastery of the year 9 format in an autonomous way. Students will critique and critically analyse their work in order to independently further the practice with sophistication and refinement.
In Year 11 students will demonstrate mastery through a selected theme in the exam paper and produce an independent study that demonstrates their knowledge and skills.
KS5
Students explore and experience a broad range of traditional and new media, processes and techniques appropriate to the chosen area of study in the field of art. Responses to this will be shown through practical and critical activities which demonstrate the students’ understanding of different styles, genres and traditions.
This qualification supports the exciting creative pathway to progress to higher education or employment.
Building cultural capital
Students gain an understanding of why art is important and how it enhances their lives. They develop a sense of their place in school and the wider world. Through art, students also investigate and gain an appreciation of different cultures and artist movements and why they are important. Students also gain an understanding of diversity and equality art. They develop evaluation skills and an understanding of how they can use different stimuli to enhance and shape their work.
Students get an opportunity to visit London art galleries to view many outstanding works of art, experiencing and appreciating them in a public setting to appreciate their beauty and significance on humanity over time. Through art, students gain the skills of creativity, curiosity, resourcefulness, resilience, communication, reflection and appreciation.