Art and Design (Fine Art)

Course summary

In the first year of the course the students explore a variety of methods, techniques, and processes on a variety of scales as part of a creative journey from starting point to final outcome. They begin with a series of workshops looking at drawing, painting, printing, and sculpture and then move onto a mini project on ‘Environment.’ The students are introduced to different starting points and techniques before independently exploring their own. After this the students complete a mock exam project. They receive a selection of themes previously set by the exam board and explore these in depth resulting in multiple development studies and a final outcome. Students are required to demonstrate an appreciation of different approaches to recording images and developing ideas, such as observation, analysis, expression, and imagination. In Year 13, students are expected to build on their learning from the previous year. This could be achieved by greater specialisation in a particular medium or process or extended development of particular themes, ideas, concepts, or issues. There is a written element to the portfolio at A-level which encourages an in-depth exploration of a specific theme/artist/technique/movement.