Art

FACULTY OF PERFORMING AND CREATIVE ARTS

What is Art?

Art is a form of visual communication and a means of expressing concepts, ideas and feelings particularly concerned with the development processes of visual perception and analysis. It encourages imagination, sensitivity, observation, and decision making skills. It enables students to engage with the world around and within them by transforming the thought into the physical realm.

CURRICULUM VISION

Our vision is to inspire students to act and think like artists, craftspeople and designers by building confidence through experimentation and techniques; for students to learn about contemporary, traditional and cultural art forms so students can engage with the visual arts and put their own and others' artwork into a context; and finally, to equip students with the knowledge and skills to respond and contribute to the cultural, social, political and emotional wellbeing of our society by creating artwork that conveys, depth and meaning.

Why do we study Art?

Art prepares children and young people to engage in the historical and contemporary visual arts and become confident audiences. Studying Art prepares our learners for a career in the creative industries which in the UK are collectively responsible for generating £101.5 billion to our economy - that is a greater economic contribution than the automotive, aerospace, life sciences and oil and gas industries combined. It teaches students about practical skills but also how to interpret the world, respond to it in an individual, personal and creative way by being inventive and original thinkers and problem solvers. Furthermore, Art contributes to our well-being and to our social, emotional and cultural development.

CURRICULUM INTENT

Our students will:

acquire knowledge and wisdom by learning thematically, developing their understanding of objects and artefacts through resource based learning. The inclusive curriculum is taught from a global perspective, so students learn to value cultural artefacts and traditional crafts These inspire ideas and stimulate questioning, helping students develop a sense of their own dignity and build respect for the diverse heritages of their peers.
be encouraged to develop self-expression, creative risk taking and embrace challenge. Studying art teaches our students determination and resilience, they learn from deep engagement and to work both independently and collaboratively as a community; developing their social skills and understanding through shared experiences.
explore personal and issues based concepts and express ideas demonstrating their ability to appreciate the visual world and respond to it in an individual, personal and creative way, whilst developing an ability to assess social, moral, ethical and aesthetic values through the practice and appreciation of Art, Craft and Design.

What do we study?

The department works thematically following an annual theme, i.e. Renaissance Renew, Living in a World of Pattern, Vintage and Retro, Transformation. The KS3 foundation course covers the formal elements of ‘Line, Tone, Shade, Colour, Shape, Form, Pattern and Texture’. Students learn about colour theory using the double primary system, record from observation and create mixed media work inspired by the thematic class installation. They progress to working in 3 dimensions, creating an identity box in the style of an artist and sculptural or ceramic work.Contextual projects include Year 7 Artist Movement project, Year 8 Women Artist Project and Year 9 Cultural Research project. At GCSE students study the Edexcel unendorsed course and develop personal themes based on issues based concepts reflecting society today in a variety of 2 and 3D techniques. There is an emphasis on developing individual themes and building autonomous work practices, whilst relating their work to that of other artists and designers in both a contemporary, cultural and historical context. Students build on these work practices at A-level, through in depth experimentation, development, refinement and analysis by following personal themes and contextual research.

To view a full summary of our KS3 and KS4 Art curriculum please click here

To view information about A-level Art at The Green School Sixth Form, please click here

CURRICULUM SEQUENCING

In Year 7 students begin with learning the Formal Elements in Art, these are explored through the colour wheel, experimental drawing tone and form and mark making responding to a department theme with key artists from different cultures and times. Students are taught to use the Formal Elements to describe and analyse art and to convey their own feelings about an art work, whilst relating these to historical and current contexts in our world. These formal elements are revisited in Year 8 and Year 9 through exciting projects that prepare students for GCSE and beyond.

What comes before: students have varied experience in terms of Art, Craft and Design depending on the primary school. Some have learnt about a few key artists, craftspeople and designers. Likewise, with different media and techniques. Which is why we offer a broad based curriculum with every opportunity to get a sound understanding of Art, Craft and Design working in all media and techniques from experimental drawing to three dimensional pieces in specific projects. Students therefore have the opportunity to act and think like artists, Crafts People and Designers.

The key concepts/big questions revisited throughout KS3:

We explore key concepts of Art History and its chronological timeline, paying attention to how contemporary art, craft and design fits into these.

Big questions:

How do we feel about the art we are seeing?
How are thoughts turned into things?
How can art change or confirm the way we feel?
Why is art good for our well being?
How can art, craft and design help humanity?
What would the world be like without art?
What is art?
What other subjects link to art and why?
What do Art and Science have in common?
What is the difference between Art, Craft and Design?
What is good art, craft and design?
How has art, craft and design changed over time?
What responsibilities do artists, crafts people and designers have to consider?
Do artists, craftspeople and designers only think about themselves?
What does site specific mean?
What is Community Art?
What is Public art?

CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION

How do we study Art?

All students have the opportunity to explore: painting, collage, mixed media, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, textiles, filming & editing, photography, IT and Photoshop. They learn from observing demonstrations, looking at exemplar work, experimenting with techniques and by working individually or collaboratively.

In studying Art, they develop a sense of craftsmanship and an appreciation of the practical and technical skills learnt through revisiting, refining and redrafting.

Analytical and research skills are an integral part of all projects and support contextual understanding and appreciation. This is achieved through individual research, group discussions and presentations.

Spiritual Moral Social Cultural education

Spiritual

Art, Craft and design finds opportunities to promote spiritual development by: encouraging students to develop a sense of excitement and an appreciation of beauty, through contemplation and reflection, providing students with an environment that is stimulating, exciting and aesthetically pleasing, helping students to learn about respecting and appreciating different and varied cultures, beliefs and values

Moral

Art, Craft and design finds opportunities to promote moral development by: assisting students to make connections with the experiences of others as represented in works of art, craft and design, creating opportunities for students to identify with moral issues in the work of other artist, craftspeople and designers, enabling students to explore ideas, feelings and meanings and to make sense of them in a personal way in their own creative work

Social

Art, Craft and design finds opportunities to promote social development by: creating opportunities for students to work as individual, part of a group or with the community, raising awareness and co-operation in respecting the environment, resources, tools, equipment, other students work, the thematic display, etc., enabling students to understand and learn that their own individual choices affect ones progress and development as well as others, teaching students to value and respect the ideas and opinions of others especially in discussion or group work or collaborative projects

Cultural

Art, Craft and design finds opportunities to promote cultural development by: creating provision for a broad and varied experience for all students through the use of artefacts and resources form as wide a variety of Western and non Western cultures as possible, teaching students that these artefacts and resources are all equally valued and a non hierarchical attitude to different art, craft and design traditions is encouraged and practised, helping students to recognise how images and artefacts can influence the way people think and feel, creating an understanding or awareness of the beliefs and ideas inherent within these artefacts and resources and relating them to their cultural context

Presentation of Work

KS3: A4 hardback sketchbook & personal portfolio.

KS4 + 5: A3 sketchbooks, contextual study & personal portfolio

Home Learning

Home learning further develops the theme and can take the form of drawing, designing or making. It can be a set task or an independent research project. Throughout KS3 students work in a hard-backed sketchbook enabling them to see progression and continuity in their work as it develops from year to year.

Co - curricular Activities

Weekly art clubs for all students, as well as visits to museums and galleries for Key Stages 4 & 5 to Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal Academy and the Saatchi Gallery.

Artists in Residence workshops and outreach projects. Annual Art exhibition for GCSE, A-level students.

CURRICULUM IMPACT

Assessment

Formative assessment takes place in lessons through discussion and plenaries.

Summative assessment of projects identifies strengths and improvements and students respond to this feedforward.

There are formal examinations at the end of each year.

Outcomes

To view the impact of our curriculum please click here for our latest exam results and here for our student destinations.

Careers Leading on from Art

There are many career choices in art, craft & design. Most students will do a 1 Year Foundation course at an art college before applying to degree courses in more specialist areas of art such as fine art, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, printing, etc. You may wish to go into a job where it is useful to have some experience of art or where you will need to use some of the skills from the course i.e. a career in advertising, marketing, design, architecture, publishing and the media, theatre, museums and gallery work.

To view more information about our school Careers programme please click here.

SUPPORTING THE CURRICULUM

How parents/carers can support their children

Making use of Google Classroom to ensure students are meeting deadlines and making use of additional resources posted
Visiting galleries and Museums
Discussing artwork in the media and watching art programmes together
Encouraging your child to attend art clubs and activities

The Green School for Girls

Art