You will develop your drawing and painting skills as well as exploring print making, mixed media, photography, sculpture and installation art depending on your personal interests! You will also learn how to hone your analytical skills and how to develop your ideas and your individual, artistic personality. The majority of the work is carried out in class and is therefore informally supervised. Some work which aids the development of the submission (homework, research, gallery visits) may be completed without direct supervision. The ten-hour sustained focus is formally supervised at the end of Year 10.

Students of Art and Design are encouraged visit galleries, museums, and exhibitions. There will be a school visit to an Art Gallery (London based) as part of the personal portfolio. In addition, you need to explore locations within your environment for research purposes which will assist you in the development of your individual project work.

You will need a sketchbook for each unit which is provided by the school. We encourage students to buy a range of art materials to help with their homework and independent study. This could be a set of pencils, watercolour paints and a variety of other materials that students may like to use to complete their work.

The acquisition of a visual language and good basic drawing skills forms a desirable part of an Art course and students must be prepared to keep sketchbooks to record observations both in school and at home. You will have the opportunity to explore and experiment with different materials, methods and image making. Your ideas, the work in progress, as well as any finished pieces of work are the subject of assessment and evaluation.

Enthusiasm, willingness to work independently and self- motivation are essential for this course. These qualities are more of a priority than an ability. At least two hours minimum a week must be devoted to Art project work as ‘homework’.

There are two components to the course, we use the AQA exam board.

• Component 1: This is worth 60% of your GCSE and take place during year 10 and 11
• Component 2: This worth 40% of your GCSE and begins in January of year 11.

Component 1 is a series of projects decided by your teacher while Component 2 is an externally set assignment by the exam board AQA. During Component 2 you will have eight weeks to carry out research, make preparations and then ten hours to produce your final artwork in school, under examination conditions.

Art and Design opens the door to lots of exciting careers. Try these for starters: Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Theatre Designer, Animator, Video Game Designer, Illustrator, Museum Curator, Photographer, Architecture, Product Design, Textiles Design, Ceramics, Advertising, Publishing, Interior Design, Fashion and Media Journalism, Hair and Make-up Design, Retail Design, Exhibition Design, Jewellery Design, Artist, Visual Media and Teaching.

Exam Board: AQA

Course Code: 8201