Study A Level Art & Design to develop creative thinking, experiment with media, explore your imagination and express yourself. Students are instructed on higher level practical, contextual and technical skills. They then develop their own personal projects linked to a theme. The course covers different areas of Art & Design so students can specialise in Fine Art or Art & Design. Year 12: Students study a foundation course where they are initially introduced to A Level techniques, processes, contextual studies and experimental work. They then respond to a variety of themes in a personal way, producing artist research, ideas and a final piece. They develop a mock practical exam piece to give them experience of responding to an A Level exam paper. Unit 1: Personal practical study Students start the A Level major project in May. Year 13: Students continue with their Unit 1 practical personal study. To accompany this they develop a written essay that supports their practical work. They have lessons to develop their writing and a support booklet with tasks to structure the essay. They produce a personal final piece, or pieces, in response to their theme. Unit 2: Externally set assignment This is an exam paper with set starting points from which students develop their own ideas with inspiration from artists. They create a final design board with a full plan of their final idea. They then produce a final 15 hour practical piece, in exam conditions.