Creative Arts

We are passionate about Creative Arts and the importance of a good Arts Education.  Art is a discipline not a subject. It is a way of looking at the world around us, of asking questions and developing ideas.  Art is a cultural and visual history of ourselves, a reflection of society – therefore, looking at Art helps students to question their own lives and futures. 

Studying Creative Arts supports students to understand and embrace the visual world in which we live by learning through making. We encourage students to broaden both their practical skills and contextual analysis through a rigorous programme of study.  Teaching is predominately practical underpinned by discourse making the courses accessible to a range of learning styles, as well as supportive of the students’ ability to make meaningful artefacts. 

Our aim is to promote a real enthusiasm for the study of Creative Arts by exposing students to a range of contexts, strategies, processes and materials to scaffold their understanding and practical skills to promote their personal attainment.  Contemporary artists often do not work in a single medium or technique, increasingly, artists are making works that defy traditional media categories; utilising the most effective media, tools, and contexts for the ideas they want to express.  Exposing students to a wide variety of art practices is important – this enables them to develop skills and translate their ideas through different mediums.

Creativity is at the heart of the curriculum and students will learn to engage in a wide range of art movements, artists and strategies for making which foster independence as they progress through the school.  Creativity gives learners skills to think in a different way, to problem solve; it gives them experiences that they can call on and it makes them more employable.

Key Stage 3

At KS3 our curriculum has been redesigned for 2021/22 to ensure it is in line with the National Curriculum for Art and Design and also allow progress to KS4 exam specifications at GCSE, following clear aims to ensure all students:

• produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
• become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques
• evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
• know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms

Our SOWs ensure students are taught:

• to use a range of techniques to record their observations in sketchbooks, journals and other media as a basis for exploring their ideas (with emphasis on drawing)
• to use a range of techniques and media, including painting
• to increase their proficiency in the handling of different materials
• to analyse and evaluate their own work, and that of others, in order to strengthen the visual impact or applications of their work
• about the history of art, craft, design and architecture, including periods, styles and major movements from ancient times up to the present day.

We are conscious that students will have had varied experience of Art at KS1 and 2.  Therefore, our schemes of work aim to ensure key skills and concepts are explicitly taught at Y7, 8 and 9, whilst still allowing for recap and building upon any prior knowledge.

We want students to understand the opportunities that arise from studying Creative Arts at KS3,4 and 5, therefore we have shaped our Y8 curriculum to explicitly teach students about careers in the Creative Industry.  Statistics from 2020 reveal the Creative Industries sector is growing more than five times faster than the national economy and they contributed more than £111 billion to the economy in 2018.  Students will learn about different careers and complete tasks which specifically relate to Graphic Design & Illustration, Architecture & Engineering and Fashion & Textiles Design.  We support the Design, Construction & Engineering Scholarship Pathway by teaching the DEC Award to Y8 in conjunction with Class of Your Own, TfL and Graingers.

For September 2021 the KS3 curriculum will be delivered as follows:

N.B. ‘Fine Art Mixed Media’ – has replaced 3D Art to reflect a change in specification to Fine Art at GCSE and A-Level.  Students will experience a wide range of materials within Mixed Media e.g. photography, digital art, printing, sculpture, installation as well as drawing and painting.  Art History will be taught within Fine Art: Mixed Media.

Our Y9 SOWs encourage students to become more independent in their studies.  The projects are designed to be GCSE ‘Taster’ Projects, in line with GCSE Specification and Assessment Criteria, allowing transition to KS4.  

Key Stage 4

At Key Stage 4, we follow the AQA Art and Design specification. Students will have an option to choose to study Fine Art or Textiles at GCSE level.  Students will study a range of strategies for making using a wide range of processes and materials to create sophisticated outcomes.  The course is 60% coursework and 40% externally set unit which includes an extended preparation time period.