Art

Department Staff: M. Thomas – Art Co-ordinator

Curriculum Intent

Our intent is to provide a safe space for students to express themselves through visual creativity. Our art space allows students to explore their own identity, thoughts, feelings and / or emotions through drawing and painting.

KS3 Curriculum

Key Stage 3 students will explore the fundamentals of art, exploring paint techniques, printing and practice their drawing skills. They will learn colour theory and explore texture, shape and tone. They will explore their own creative vocabulary and begin to form their opinions of their own work as well as those around them and the artists we will explore. A more practical curriculum steers away from the pressures of exams and carries out a more experimental approach.

KS4 Curriculum

At Key Stage 4 the students take a more independent approach to their study. They will follow the guidance of the exam board and will be given a title to follow. They will complete their own artist research, with the help of their subject teacher. As well as this, they will explore and refine art processes they learnt in previous years, developing their painting and drawing techniques further. All the work they produce in years 10 and 11 will go towards their final GCSE exam grade.

Year 7 follows the theme of ‘Animals’ and is about students developing an understanding of the artistic elements. They will explore texture and tone. They will explore many different drawing techniques such as continuous line and mark making. They will explore the work of Albrecht Durer and design and make a series of polytile prints inspired by his work. They will then move on to exploring infrared technologies when looking at insects and conclude their time in year 7 by making sculptures inspired by this.

Year 8 explores the theme of ‘Pop Art’ whereby students explore colour theory in detail. They will learn about the colour wheel in detail and apply this to their understanding of Andy Warhol’s work. They will explore his work in further detail, designing and creating their own stencils inspired by Warhol’s work. These stencils will be used to create a series of prints, much like Warhol’s prints. They will then move onto to looking at the work of Roy Lichtenstein and conclude their time in year 8 creating a large scale piece inspired by his work.

In Year 9, student will explore the theme of ‘Street Art’. They will look at popular themes surrounding the theme and begin to develop an understanding of how Street Art can be used to spread positive messages. They will look at the work of artist Banksy and create design and create stencils they can use to spray paint with. They will move on to designing and making a large scale piece of art that reflects a theme and or message of their choosing. Students will be given the opportunity to express their feelings and passions through this piece of art.

Year 10 is where students will begin their GCSE in Fine Art. They will follow the AQA exam board and their year 10 portfolio will explore the title of ‘Abstract Art’. Students will develop a refined understanding of art processes such as drawing and painting, as well as how to successfully write about artists work. They will move on to complete a smaller project, within the Abstract title, called ‘Glitch Art’. This will explore the use of photographic retouching using Photoshop and will end in a sustained large scale piece of art. Towards the end of the summer term (after the May half term), students will begin to explore their Year 11 title which is ‘The Fantastic and The Strange’.

Year 11 students will continue their Fantastic and Strange title exploration until the January, this is when AQA will release their final GCSE exam title. This is what they will follow up until Exam Season, where they will complete their Art GCSE exam. This is a two day event of consistent working on a final outcome they have planned in their time leading up to the exam.