Subjects

Vision:

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As our students progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. 

They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Within the Art department, it is our aim to inspire students to produce creative work allowing them to explore their ideas and record their experiences, through 5 main aims:

 

• use a range of techniques to record observations in sketchbooks, journals and other media as a basis for exploring their ideas

• use a range of techniques and media, including painting

• increase proficiency in the handling of different materials

• analyse and evaluate own work, and that of others, in order to strengthen the visual impact or applications of their work

• knowledge about the history of art, craft, design and architecture, including periods, styles and major movements

By studying Art, our students gain confidence in using a variety of media as they will learn how to use them successfully in order to create a finished piece of artwork. Additionally, our students can sometimes find it difficult to talk about and express their emotions. By studying Art, pupils will learn that artwork has often been a means for an artist to express their feelings, overcome challenges and fight for a cause - pupils will learn this through looking at the historical context of art from ancient times up to the present day.

 

Within the Art curriculum we have worked hard to ensure our students are offered a wide range of media to work with, within the specification. At Key Stage 4 students can choose to study Art or Textiles with an extra GCSE offered in Photography taught after school. Students can then continue to develop their skills at Key Stage 5, where all the subjects are offered at A level.

 

Yearly Intent Statements

 

What are the aims of specific stages of the curriculum?

 

Year 7: By the end of the year… 

Students will be able to confidently mark make using a range of materials. They will understand the techniques of using pencil shading, colouring pencils and watercolors, with some experimentation with 3D materials such as papier mache. Students will learn about a range of art and cultures including Aboriginal Art, Kandinsky and Picasso. Students will practise drawing methods, developing their hand eye coordination. They will also learn specific art vocabulary whilst exploring the different art themes and develop understanding of colour theory.

 

Year 8: By the end of the year… 

Students will learn how to refine skills learnt through year 7, building upon their tonal and drawing skills with more detailed studies. Use of other media is introduced including oil pastels and lino printing. Students will explore a range of art genres including Art Nouveau, Surrealism  and Day of the dead. They will learn about health and safety within the art rooms particularly when using lino cutting tools. 

Year 9: By the end of the year… 

Students embed their prior knowledge and understanding of the formal elements and refine their practical skills. Drawing, painting and use of colour theory are revisited and refined to a higher level. Students learn about a range of artists and art genres whilst studying themes of The Coast, Portraits and Japan. Students will be able to use art vocabulary to write about artist work and their own work.

Year 10: By the end of the year…  

Students have refined and developed their skills and understanding learnt at KS3, through themed projects  such as African art and the human figure. Students will also learn how to sustain a themed project where they are able to select their own choice of artist and art materials. Acrylics are introduced within the first project and students gain confidence with brush control and colour mixing.

Year 11: By the end of the year… 

Students will have an understanding of a range of artists and art techniques, allowing them to select their own media to use, developing their theme. They will visit the Sainsbury Centre of Visual Arts to explore the collections and collect primary resources for the ESA. Students refine their projects using the knowledge and skills embedded through the previous years. They will know how to prepare for their ESA and be confident they have fulfilled the 4 assessment objectives. Students will be able to confidently write about their work and others, using an art vocabulary with subject specific words.

Year 12: By the end of the year…

Students will be able to confidently discuss and write about their own and others' work. They will have developed their practical skills learnt at KS3 and 4, through workshop style sessions. Broadened their knowledge of art materials and been introduced to materials such as oil paints, understanding the health and safety aspects also associated within art studios. Students explore a range of themed projects including Natural forms, portraits and landscapes, developing and refining art skills. Students then begin a personal investigation that lasts through into year 13, where students can explore a range of artists and materials that they self select. 

Year 13: By the end of the year..

Students will have secured the knowledge and understanding of working with a range of materials and then selected areas specific to the student to develop and show their best skills. Through a personal investigation students will explore their theme, researching artists and visiting galleries. Students plan for their ESA and fully prepare for the exam with detailed investigations into their chosen theme. Students learn how to exhibit their work and some will have entered competitions. Advice is given to prepare a portfolio for an interview and some students will successfully secure University places.

 

Rationale behind sequencing:

 

Year 7

Aboriginal art- This scheme of work is a starting point for students to begin learning the basic, fundamental Art skills. It allows students to begin with pencil, colour pencil and watercolours, understanding how to use them and to achieve a desired effect. It is also designed for teachers to understand the level of student ability and their understanding of basic art materials.

Food- This project allows students to build upon prior knowledge of drawing skills and colour theory. Students can recap their mark making skills and see how they can add colour to create a different mood or feeling. It develops their communication skills and also listening skills, interpreting what they see into colour and shape. There are areas where students can develop their finer drawing skills to be assessed and also more experimental sections to encourage students to be creative.

Kandinsky - This scheme is the last year 7 project to allow students to consolidate all their knowledge learnt so far, colour, line, shape, visual awareness and communication skills. It allows students to experience 3 dimensional skills once they have developed their 2 dimensional skills and will hopefully feel more confident to experiment at this stage.

 

Year 8

Art nouveau, insects- The project embeds the skills learnt in year 7, developing use of pencil tone, mark making and texture. The students have developed finer motor skills and are generally ready to use lino cutters, however those who are not ready to use them can use polystyrene press printing as an alternative. It is very important to assess the ability of students before allowing them to use the tools and health and safety guidance/ demos are absolutely essential with this topic. SSA support would be needed with very low ability classes to allow this technique to be used.

Day of the dead- This project reflects on the proportions of the face learnt in year 7 and embeds the pencil drawing skills learnt throughout the Art curriculum. Students refine their three dimensional skills, design making and also painting skills. More able students can deviate from the plastic mould and creatively construct a higher ability mask design, the lower ability students can access the project easily by sticking with the mould template. 

Japanese- This project is left until the end of year 8 to embed the learning so far learnt through the year. The students are able to refine their drawing skills, knowledge of colour and detailed use of pencil tone, colour and paint. This project is also fun, engaging students at the end of term to look at objects in a fun way and challenge themselves to be as creative as they can be.

Year 9

Coast- This project has been developed so students can refine their three dimensional skills and be imaginative with inspiration from their own environment. Year 9 students need to be engaged even more so than other year groups, especially the boys in the groups, as we find this is the year when they struggle to be engaged with the content. 

Portraits- This project shows the progress made with painting and drawing skills over the last 3 years and how the skills have been translated into this work. Students creatively use painting and drawing in a much more advanced way, with particular attention to detail and blending colour. Refine and revisit knowledge of the proportion of the face.

Japan-  Students develop their three dimensional skills learnt in year 7, using similar techniques with paper, card and papier mache. They learn about the Japanese culture and develop their specific art vocabulary.

Year 10

African art- Structured first project to incorporate previously visited techniques and skills. Drawing, painting and mark making. Introduction to acrylic paints and refinement of lino cut, to show reduction print process.

 

Human form- Introduction of the human figure at an appropriate age, for all students to feel comfortable to draw from the images. New drawing skills to be learnt and will also recap on the learning in year 7 and 9, of proportions of the face.

 

Themed project- Last project in year 10 to allow students to be more independent and explore all the skills and techniques learnt through the last two terms. Homework tasks are more open ended to allow students to pick their tasks and begin to research their preferred artists and designers.

 

Year 11

Thematic project- Through this project students bring together their skills , knowledge and understanding embedded through year 10, to explore where their strengths lie. They are encouraged to work with their strengths whilst exploring other media, and ways to present photography. 

ESA- The ESA is at the end of their GCSE where students can bring together their skills, knowledge and understanding. 

 

Year 12

Workshop based skills- Experimental project with a focus on experimenting and learning new skills. Students work through the induction period to see if they are certain about their course choice also.

 

Final major project- Through this project students bring together their skills , knowledge and understanding embedded through the workshop based first term, to explore where their strengths lie. They are encouraged to work with their strengths whilst exploring other media, this can include Art, Photography, Textiles and CAD. 

 

Year 13

Thematic based inquiry- This is the last coursework component and  allows students opportunities to generate and develop ideas, research primary and contextual sources, record practical and written observations, experiment with media and processes, and refine ideas towards producing personal resolved outcome(s).

 

ESA- Final externally set assignment, where students experiment and focus on their strengths, planning for a final outcome.