Content
| Year 7 | Project 1 – An introduction to Line, Shape, Colour and Form. This projects acts as an introduction to the formal elements of art and design and allows students to enhance or compound knowledge learnt at Key stage 2. Students will be led through a series of activities which focus on drawing skills and the application of tone and colour. Project 2 – Pattern. An exploration of how we can create patterns using collage, decorative pen work, printmaking techniques and stitching. Students will look at Indian and African patterns for inspiration and create several of their own designs throughout the project. Project 3 – The Animal Kingdom. Students will revisit drawing skills from project 1 to enable them to draw animals accurately, they will then further enhance their skills in order to incorporate a sense of form and texture into their work. |
| Year 8 | Myself Project Students will complete a project based on themselves. The project runs over the whole year and encourages students to explore how their personalities and emotions can be portrayed using imagery and colour. Skills taught will include drawing, collage, photography and painting. Art historical work will focus on three main artists; Julian Opie, David Hockney and Pablo Picasso. |
| Year 9 | The World Around Me This project focuses on many aspects of the World around us, including; nature, political issues and environmental issues. During the latter stages of the project students will be taught how meaning can be expressed within artwork and will create a collaged piece in relation to Derek Gores and stencil print in response to Banksy. Art historical research will focus on artists who have based their work on the environment and will include Edward Weston and Andy Goldsworthy. |
Assessment (including homework)
| All years | Each project will be fully assessed at the end of the project. However, there are four different assessment objectives; Recording ideas and observations, analysing and evaluating imagery, exploring and developing ideas and presenting a personal response (final piece) and levels for individual areas will be given throughout the year when the students have completed several pieces of work for that area. These results will be shared with the students on a personal assessment sheet in their sketchbooks on which they can track their progress. Interim reports and profiles will feature the student’s current, working at level. Homework is marked regularly and a small target for improvement is set. Merit stickers are awarded for excellent effort or achievement, 3 Merits will be rewarded with a Praise slip. For all years comments will be written next to the appropriate piece of work and where appropriate extension exercises will be set to help a student make progress. |
How to support your daughter
Encouraging your daughter to draw, photograph and collect relevant imagery as projects progress will help her to improve her observational skills. Being able to select information from the internet is also important and is something that may need reinforcing at home if you notice pages and pages of information being printed or copied as homework (students are generally only asked for a fact-file of bullet points or 1 – 2 paragraphs).