Art and Design

Art and Design commands a suite of rooms which includes a large cellar area that is used for storage and project work. Recently a welding bay has been constructed in the courtyard space attached to the building. The department also uses rooms in the CDT building for Ceramic projects and Textiles.

Art and Design enjoys great popularity within the college community, which is reflected in the large numbers that opt for it. G.C.S.E. and A level results are extremely good clearly demonstrating depth of success throughout the ability range, in this respect, the department prides itself in catering for all pupils wishing to pursue it at examination level, believing that:

'Art is not just the preserve of the talented few but the right of everyone'

To this end a wide range of options and opportunities are offered to pupils. Staff in the department, are committed to a programme of work, that addresses both historical and contemporary trends in art. At sixth form level pupils are introduced to philosophical issues related to Art in a modern context. Staff, are also committed practitioners and exhibit their work in the annual department exhibitions within the college and in galleries throughout the wider community.

Key stage 3 pupils are offered a broad based curriculum, which introduces them to a range of techniques and approaches. Pupils fill their sketchbooks with prepared surfaces in mixed media, which are then imaged with selected themes and personal responses, as a result, many of them swell with creativity and lead to very exciting and ambitious outcomes.

Options in the department include: Painting and drawing in a variety of media, mixed media, textiles, ceramics, welded metal sculpture. Opportunities for fashion are currently being developed and this increasingly popular addition will be featured in the end of year exhibition.

Pupils enthusiasms for the subject are supported by a flourishing extra-curricular programme which includes holiday workshops, lunchtime and after school clubs. Pupils use this time to either seek advice with problems they are encountering, or advance ambitious projects.

The department has done much to embrace the wider community by exhibiting its work in professional galleries and also linking itself with community projects and commissions such as the London Victoria Station mural and the Greenall Partnership Sculpture. Partnerships have been created with business and industry, which have received recognition for the department on both a local and national scale.

New initiatives are currently being researched and piloted in the department, some of which will be implemented into schemes of work and the Arts curriculum which include: A design element which seeks to explore the impact of the artist as designer in society. Literature/poetry, as a means of creating visual images. A number of our pupils have successfully transferred their literary skills into the practical work that they have produced.

The results clearly indicate that such methods have enriched the visual aspects of their work and at the same time added a cognitive dimension to a process known to most as a purely practical activity. Experiments are also currently being conducted in a similar way with Music (acoustic and electric guitars) These experiments are designed to discover how such music can stimulate expression and deepen engagement in the practical work that the pupils produce.

A Level Art and Design

The Art & Design Department is accommodated in a large building which provides ample space for pupils to work in. Recently a Creative Media Suite was added, and there is also a welding bay at the back of the building.

You will be given the opportunity to work in a wide range of media which includes: Oil Painting, Mixed Media/Fashion and Textiles, Digital Lens based Photography, Sculpture - ranging from plaster/Card to Welded Metal and you will be encouraged to create works of scale and ambition.

You will also be required to visit art galleries and you will be given the opportunity to attend study visits to London and Paris each year. Partnerships have been created with business and industry, which have received recognition for the department on both a local and national scale. Commissions for public sculpture included last year two large pieces for university garden of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Liverpool.

The department runs an extensive extra- curricular programme during lunchtimes, weekends and in the holidays throughout the year.

Examination board: OCR, AS (unendorsed) Art & Design H160 - A (unendorsed) Art & Design H560

AS Units:

The coursework Portfolio: 60% of the total AS mark

Pupils are required to produce a portfolio of work from starting points, topics or themes that they can choose

The focus is on exploration, research and the acquisition of techniques

The Controlled assignment: 40% of the total AS mark

Pupils select one starting point from an early release question paper

Pupils have a minimum of three weeks in which to prepare followed by a 5 hour practical controlled test

A2 Units:

Personal Investigation: 30% of the total Advanced GCE mark

Pupils submit one major project that has personal significance

The investigation comprises between 1000 and 3000 words

The controlled Assignment: 20% of the total Advanced GCE mark

Pupils select one starting point from an early release paper

They have a minimum of three weeks in which to prepare

They are given 15 hours of controlled time to realise their ideas into a final outcome.


Department Resources

Computing Facilities

  • The department recognises the importance of electronic imaging as a method of producing visual images to this we have recently created a space for computers. The department is committed to a programme of expansion in this area for all age ranges so that these approaches may be built into normal research and investigation procedures.
  • Creative Media Suite. - The department currently possesses 10 computers and a laser printer which are housed in the creative media suite on the first floor of the building. This room offers good space to develop media and lens based projects and facilitates the AS/A2 Photography course and also media studies which is run by the English Department

Books/Video

  • The department is expanding its library to include books and video relevant to the practical work undertaken by the students. A selection currently exists which allows to students borrow these items for general interest and also for their personal investigations.

Welding Bay

Welded metal sculpture is an option available to students. This takes place at the back of the department where the courtyard area has been converted into a welding bay which can be used all year round for welded metal projects and other heavy duty/large scale projects. Some of the welded projects are conducted at JSM Engineering Sandicroft under the supervision of a qualified welder.

This is an option made available to students who wish to pursue it usually for their special research assignment. Large scale projects e.g. Those that eventually feature in the college sculpture park or projects commissioned by business/industry are executed under the guidance of qualified welder/fabricator A J Sands at JMS Engineering in Sandicroft. Such projects usually incur costs, Although the department has, by partnering with this company, managed to command reduced fees for use of factory space and the industrial equipment required in the production of these projects.

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