Art and Design (Photography)

Course summary

The first Phase of this course is focused on building the required skills for the 2 assessed units in Year 13. A foundation style programme developing essential photographic skills begins in September of Year 12 and runs until November. In this phase students will learn technical skills as well as artistic styles for presenting artwork. Students are encouraged to experiment and learn how to use a range of designers and photographers to inspire their own work. The coursework element and first component of the A Level begins in January, which is worth 60% of the overall marks. This is called the Personal Investigation which includes a practical portfolio of work showing the learner's response to a starting point as well as a written, related study which supports the practical work. The second component is the externally set task which is worth 40% of the total marks. OCR offers a range of themes which are issued on 1 February. Learners are invited to respond to one starting point from the paper and complete a range of preparatory work as well as a 15 hour timed piece.