Pupil’s understanding of Art is built upon throughout the academic year in 1 hour timetable lessons. Our curriculum acts as a spiral curriculum, revisiting prior learning while progressively becoming more complex.

Students in year 7 explore the main building blocks of the subject through drawing and studying how these building blocks are used compositionally by artists and designers. They are expected to use key art vocabulary that allow them to evaluate their own and fellow student’s outcomes. These elements are revisited in a final cross curricular project in the summer term where the students select, explore and produce a personal outcome. The project revisits and further explores the art elements ensuring the pupils’ understanding is deep and transferable.

This formula is repeated in year 8 using colour as the anchor. Through building on prior learning and ensuring material exploration skills, contextual links are further developed and expanded on.

In Year 9 students use Portraiture as the anchor and focus on the art movements of Expressionism and Pop Art to fully explore and develop projects with a more personal and detailed response.

Students further explore, experiment and develop technical skills linking closely to contextual studies, using key words in both verbal and written evaluation to improve and develop their outcomes. Attention to the understanding and use of contextual studies and key vocabulary during verbal and written evaluation is held as a high priority in classroom and homework tasks are used to ensure students reflect and refine appropriately on their artworks. KS3 embeds the fundamental learning blocks to allow all students to be confident to select appropriate research and media and understanding the importance of exploration evaluation and refinement to achieve successful outcomes.

Students are expected to spend at least 1 hour per week on homework. The homework will consolidate and extend the learning that has taken place during lessons. Homework should be completed in the A4 sketchbook which can be purchased from the department for £1.00. Students are encouraged to attend the weekly lunchtime Art Club for Key Stage 3 during Thursday lunchtime.

At GCSE, Art students build upon the skills acquired at KS3 developing a personal and meaningful relationship with Art. Art at GCSE is allocated two hours per week. Students are entered under the OCR examination board and our option is J171: Fine Art.

Lessons are project based, where pupils focus more explicitly on four key assessment areas of study when producing their artworks. A01 Develop, A02 Refine, A03 Record and A04 Present.

The aim of GCSE Art is to embed a deep understanding of the creative process required and assessment objectives covered under the GCSE specification. Attention to the understanding and use of key vocabulary in analysing and evaluating is held as a high priority in all classroom and homework tasks to ensure students reflect appropriately on their outcomes. Our aim is to ensure that students are constantly refining and developing ideas and exploring using appropriate media meeting the needs of the portfolio and exam requirements.

In the summer term of Year 10 students begin their Art GCSE coursework (until the end of the autumn term in Year 11), under the title Natural Form. This is worth 60% of the overall GCSE.

In January of Year 11 all Art students begin their Art GCSE examination period, worth 40% of the overall GCSE. This consists of a preparation period, followed by a 10 hour examination in late April.

Students are encouraged to visit the department outside of lesson times to gain additional teacher support, use the materials available and work in a quiet, spacious environment.

Students are expected to spend at least 2 hours per week on homework. A wide range of Fine Art materials are also available to buy from the Art Department.

The GCSE curriculum allows students to further explore their love of art and hopes to inspire pupils to further pursue their talents.

At A Level, Art students benefit from 4 hours per week of lesson time at AS and 5 hours at A2. We use the OCR specification for A level Art and our option if H600: Fine Art.

At KS5, the curriculum is designed to support students wishing to study art after post-18. At KS5 our students are supported to become independent creative thinkers and problem solvers. Working towards this goal gives students the practical skills, contextual knowledge and confidence to succeed in a number of careers, especially those in the creative industries.

Students will use contextual studies, current trends and developments in Art to inform their creative process focusing on the four key assessment areas (A01 Develop, A02 Explore, A03 Record, A04 Present) when building their portfolio and exam units. Students will gain a real understanding of what it means to be a creative problem solver, alongside the knowledge, skills and confidence sought by higher education and employers.

In the first year of A level students will initially challenge and expand their observational drawing skills exploring a wide range of materials and processes. In the Spring term an internally set theme is selected by the students and developed until the summer term focusing on the four key assessment areas of study.

In the second year of the A level pupils will continue to develop writing and analysis skills in the form of a personal investigation which is linked to their practical portfolio Unit 01. This is completed at the end of January equates to 60% of their grade. The externally set exam Unit 02 (40% of the over grade) starts in February. Students select from the externally set themes to produce their artworks (A01 Develop, A02 Refine, A03 Record and A04 Present). The final outcome is produced in a 15 hour exam in early May. Throughout the year they attend exhibitions, external Art and Design workshops and events, enriching their knowledge of the diversity and range of the subject.

A Level Students are expected to spend at least 3 hours per week on homework. They are expected to visit the department for these 3 study periods outside of lessons times, to gain additional teacher support, use the materials available and work in a quiet, spacious environment. A wide range of Fine Art materials are also available to buy from the Art Department, which is recommended so that students can do additional work at home. 

We have and continue to invest in equipment and new material developments to ensure our students have the resources required to extend and enrich the development of their art portfolios ready for university and art school interviews.

We aim for our students in Y13 to leave as confident, independent, self- motivated creatives who have skills required for realisation and production of their creative ideas so they can go on to an Art and Design foundation or Degree course, and apprenticeships.