• Home
• Curriculum
• Art

Art & Design Department Staff

For more information about the Subject curriculum, please contact: Miss L Ward the Curriculum Leader.

• Miss L Ward BA Hons Fine Art - Curriculum Leader
• Miss R Appleton BA Hons Illustration - Art Teacher

Art Ambassadors

Year 10 

• Millie Stanton 
• Ava Wignall
• Izzy Hamilton 
• Sam Smith 
• India Carlton 

 

Year 9

• Lottie Banks 
• Sophie Smith 
• Lucy Syers 

Technical Support staff

• Mr S Coghlan

Curriculum Intent 

The Art and Design Department aims to provide a positive, supportive and informative place, where students are encouraged to use their imagination and creativity to express themselves. We want to allow all students the ability to access art, embrace mistakes, take risks and understand that being a good artist is not defined only as having the ability to draw.

Picasso – ‘Every child is an artist. The problem is to remain an artist once they grow up.’

Currently, GCSE students follow the AQA Art and Design specification (Fine Art) 8201. This course enables students to pursue projects in drawing, painting, graphic design, sculpture and printmaking.

Current GCSE art students select from a range of themes to allow them to go on their own creative journeys. Students are supported by a bank of relevant artists for each theme and the subject knowledge of specialist teachers with BA Hons. In Fine art and Illustration. Personal Journeys are underpinned with knowledge of the 4 Assessment Objectives in Art and Design which have underpinned the basis and sequence of learning at Key stage 3 allowing for Art students to become resilient independent learners.

A01- Making links to artists in the form of a contextual study page

A02 - experimenting with techniques this artist may use and forming new techniques

A03- Creating personal Ideas that link to the chosen theme and selected artist

A04- A personal and meaningful Outcome that links to Ideas, experiments and artist

Our aim is to engage, inspire and challenge students, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As students’ progress through the Key Stages, they should become critical thinkers, develop an understanding of how Art and Design both reflects and shapes our history and contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

We encourage Independent research to enable students in both key stages to discover art, craft, design and architecture beyond the curriculum. There are opportunities for students to get involved in extra-curricular activities such as the Lower School Art Clubs. Here students are encouraged to experiment with lots of different media and techniques pursuing personal projects and accessing equipment for homework projects.

Art and Design Curriculum Road Map

 

Implementation:

Key Stage 3

Year 7: Identity  

During year 7 students will be introduced to the 7 formal elements in art: line, tone, texture, colour, pattern, shape and form –sometimes classed as one) by exploring the theme of Identity. Students will investigate and respond to the work of artist’s who have also explored the theme of Identity from various social and cultural backgrounds and create their own responses through the use of an array of mediums and techniques. Students will become familiar with the sequence:

A01- Making links to artists in the form of a contextual study page
A02- Experimenting with techniques this artist may use and forming new techniques
A03- Creating personal Ideas that link to the chosen theme and selected artist
A04- A personal and meaningful outcome that links to Ideas, experiments and artist

Students will receive written feedback across these areas throughout the year.

Term 1

• An introduction to the formal elements
• Observational drawing challenge using tone.

LINE

• An introduction to Picasso and his use of line.
• Experimenting with continuous line
• ‘Roll a Picasso’ – generating ideas using features from Picasso’s portraits
• Creating a mini 2 perspective cardboard portrait based on ideas

LINE + TEXTURE

• Discovering Ali Golzad – Cardboard portrait artist
• Experimenting with recycled material to create texture boards
• Designing a portrait based on an Icon past or present
• Creating a cardboard textural portrait of icon

Term 2

 LINE + COLOUR

 

• Discovering the artwork of Julien Opie
• Introduction of colour theory using different mediums
• Designing a self portrait using line and complimentary colour in the style of Opie
• Learning the proportions of the face
• Polystyrene print self-portrait

LINE + PATTERN + TONE

• Exploring the work of Chuck Close
• Experimenting with pattern to create tone.
• Designing a grid pattern self-portrait inspired by Chuck Close
• Creation of a pattern self portrait

Term 3 – LINE + COLOUR + FORM + PATTERN

• Exploring the artwork of Niki de Saint Phalle
• Experimenting with cardboard and mod rock to create 3D form
• Creating a design for personal Sculpture
• Creation of a sculpture expressing personal identity using colour and pattern

 

Year 8: Architecture and Sculpture

During Year 8 students will re visit the formal elements in more depth exploring the theme of Architecture and Sculpture. Students will discover the work of various historic and contemporary architects and sculptors and create personal responses using an array of mediums and techniques.

The formal elements and assessment Objectives continue to underpin learning. Students are given written feedback throughout the year in response to all assessment objectives.

Term 1

• Drawing challenge- Liver Building grid drawing

 

LINE

• Discovering the work of artist Cameron R Neilson
• Creating a worm’s eye view of building using one-point perspective

 

LINE + COLOUR + PATTERN

• Discovering Hundertwasser’s Buildings
• Blending techniques using Harmonious colours in pencil crayon
• Discovering Gaudi’s use of Mosaic
• Paper cutting and collage techniques to create Mosaic designs
• Discovering Lucinda Rogers
• Experimenting with Ink wash and line

 

Term 2

• Adding Mosaic, colour blending and ink techniques to worms eye view
• Discovering Emad Zand and his use of every day objects to inspire his architectural designs
• Experimenting with compositions using everyday objects
• Creating our own amazing concepts for building designs inspired by everyday objects – Emad Zand
• Turning concepts into realistic drawings using tone

Term3

•  
• Investigating the work of Henry Moore
• Creating observational drawings of organic objects to inspire designs
• Experimenting with clay and Mod Roc and clay to create sculptures
• Creation of a sculpture inspired by Organic forms

 

Year 9: Expressionism portraits/ landscapes/ animals

During Year 9 students again revisit the elements of art refining and building upon the techniques they know and experimenting with mediums and processes that they are unfamiliar with. During the first term students undertake a 4-week homework in which they independently research an artist and create a contextual study page. This starts to prepare Year 9 students for the expectations of home learning at GCSE level. During term 2 the curriculum broadens to allow students a greater exposure to different materials and techniques they may wish to use at GCSE. Portraits, landscapes and Animals have been chosen under the umbrella of Expressionism as they are popular reoccurring themes within Students personal journeys at GCSE. Expressionism also allows students to experiment and use unconventional approaches as they learn about the styles of different artists, this gives students confidence to be more creative with their personal approaches and avoid the desire for ‘perfection’.

Term1: Portraits

LINE + TONE + COLOUR

• Expressionism Title page using different techniques and mediums
• Translating an expression using the grid the grid technique to create a line drawing accurately enlarging a photograph depicting an emotion
• Experimenting with tonal techniques and graded pencils

 

• Discovering the work of Vince Low and his scribble method
• Discovering the work of Lui Freyyera and his colour hatching
• Experimenting with scribble and colour hatching techniques
• Creating a large expressive portrait based on original grid drawing -half inspired by Lui Freyerra in colour hatching half inspired by Vince Low’s scribble techniques

Term 2: Landscapes

COLOUR + TONE+ TEXTURE

• Discovering David Hockney’s Landscapes
• Workshops in watercolour, oil pastel, charcoal, pen and wash and acrylic paint
• Composition ideas for final piece and choice of medium
• Creation of a final piece depicting local landscape broken up into sections with student’s choice of medium

Term 3

• Discovering the animal portraits of Sarah Taylor
• Experimenting with blowing ink and creating stencils
• Creating realistic animal drawings to inspire final design
• Creating a large colour animal portrait using techniques inspired by Sarah Taylor

 

Year 10:

Will work on 2 independent projects over the Year. The projects will be based on a choice of 8 themes listed below. For each project Year 10 will independently research at least 2 relevant artists and respond by experimenting  with techniques and mediums relevant to their theme and the chosen artist. Students will be working towards a final piece for their chosen theme which will be inspired by the artists that they have discovered but most importantly with their personal ideas and meaning. Students are encouraged to use a variety of different mediums that they will have gained proficiency in during key stage 3 and to incorporate observational drawing and new media.

• Distortion
• Messages
• Decay
• Fantastic and Strange
• Microscopic
• Organic Forms
• Journeys
• Metamorphosis

Students will be familiar with the 4 assessment objectives and the sequence of:

A01- Making links to artists in the form of a contextual study page
A02- experimenting with techniques this artist may use and forming new techniques
A03- Creating personal Ideas that link to the chosen theme and selected artist
A04- A personal and meaningful Outcome that links to Ideas, experiments and artist

Students will be given feedback on these areas continuously and on written feedback form so that they can address areas of strength and weakness.

Year 11:

Term 1

3D Sculptures of cubist inspired animal heads
A series of experiments to distort a self portrait using a multitude of mediums such as oil paint, ink, pencil, paint and collage
Research into an artist relating to Distortion
A personal response based on chosen artists relating to Distortion
Completion of missed Year 10 work until Christmas

Term 2

During this term Students will respond to an externally set task from the examination board AQA . The task will be to a pick a question/ theme from a booklet and respond by creating their own project. This should already feel like a familiar pattern to students as they will have experienced creating their own projects from the start of Key stage 4 .

Students will be expected to produce a minimum of:

 

1 x mood board and mind map related to chosen theme

1  x artist research page

1 X personal photography page

1 x  observational drawings page

1 x ideas page

1 x development experimentation page

1 x personal outcome – This will be created under a 10 hour exam spread over 2 days

 

Students will be supported by a personal learning Journey in which they will document their learning.

Term 3

Final Coursework Deadline: Collation of Exhibition

Impact

We believe that our Art curriculum will equip students to be resilient and independent. That with the vast exposure to different mediums and techniques by GCSE students will be able to independently select and manipulate materials appropriate to the artist and theme they have chosen to explore. With a firm understanding of the sequence developed since Year 7: artist study, experimentation, ideas and outcome at the core of their personal projects’ students will have the confidence to explore at their own pace. We believe that formative assessment across these Objectives will allow students to understand where they need to progress and their areas of strength. That students will become independent researchers and autonomous in their approach. Ultimately this will allow students to have a drive to persevere and take pride in their own journey. Going forward into careers in the arts they will be able to think critically and be desirable as employees in the outside world.

During this process we want students to enjoy and engage with art, the creative process and the environment in the art department and art beyond the curriculum!

Year 11 Art Revision Materials

Reach your target grade in Art