- Secondary
- Subjects
- Art
Art
The aims of our art curriculum are to stimulate, encourage and develop:
- Confidence, enthusiasm and a sense of achievement in the practice of Art and Design
- An ability to identify and solve problems in visual and tactile form
- An ability to record from direct observation and personal experience
- The technical competence and manipulative skills necessary to form, compose and communicate in two and three dimensions
- Knowledge of a working vocabulary relevant to the subject
- The ability to organise and relate abstract ideas to practical outcomes
- Experimentation and innovation through the inventive use of materials and techniques
- Intuitive and imaginative responses showing critical and analytical faculties
- An interest in, and a critical awareness of, environments and cultures.
The Middle School curriculum in Years 7 to 9 provides students with a solid foundation for IGCSE Art in Years 10 and 11.
In Year 7, students begin with learning how to draw still life. They also explore Chinese and Japanese painting as well as Medieval art. These topics are complemented by skills development in understanding how to use oil pastels, ink, watercolor and colour pencils respectively.
In Year 8, the curriculum delves into oceanic art. They also complete a unit on the human body and explore digital art, photomontage as well as drawing of a mannequin. Finally, they revisit still life and they deepen their skills by learning how to render this using paint.
Year 9 focuses on topics such as linear perspective, German Expressionism and a unit on sculpture based on the artist Wayne Thiebaud. These years provide students with essential knowledge and skills to understand architecture, printing and ceramics respectively.
In Year 10 students complete three projects with an emphasis on observational drawing and painting, graphic design and printmaking, three-dimensional studies and analysis of an artwork.
They record their experience and media trials on preparation sheets. At the end of the third term, they choose an area of study for their coursework and exam in Year 11 based on what they have enjoyed the most.
IB Visual Arts asks students to work as artists: to develop their own ideas, experiment with materials and think critically about their work and the work of others. Students use a wide range of two- and three-dimensional media, which may include oil painting, photography, graphic design, sculpture and digital work.
Over the two years, students keep a detailed record of their research, experiments and decisions, and study artists and artworks from different times and cultures to understand how context shapes meaning. In Year 13 they develop a body of resolved work around a theme of their choice and curate it in the IB2 exhibition, writing the rationale and exhibition texts themselves.
There are no written examinations. All assessment is through coursework submitted at the end of the course, with Higher Level students producing a larger body of work and completing an additional component. The course leads on to degrees in fine art, architecture, design, art history, film and the wider creative industries.
BTEC Creative Media Practice is a hands-on course for students who want to make things: films, moving image, graphic design, sound and digital media. It is designed around the way the creative industries work, and students spend most of their time producing media rather than writing about it.
The course is taught in two modules. In the first, exploring and developing creative media skills, students try out a wide range of techniques in workshops and short projects, then respond to a vocational brief with a finished media product. In the second, advancing creative practice, they take more control, setting their own direction and managing their own time, and finish with a project that responds to an industry-style brief in the way a professional would.
Assessment is entirely internal and based on four units of project work, portfolio and practical production. Units are graded from Distinction* to Pass, and the overall grade is weighted towards the work produced in Year 13. The course is equivalent to one A Level and leads on to degrees and careers in film and television, graphic design, animation, photography, marketing and digital content.