Curriculum
Key Stage 3
In year 7 students are exposed to the basic components of Art and Design and cover topics that include Colour Theory, The Formal Elements and Line and Light. This sets the ‘foundations’ for students to develop their skills and understanding for the remainder of KS3, by improving upon these basic topics of knowledge. At the core of the curriculum is the development and refinement of painting and drawing techniques fully supported by relevant critical and contextual studies.
In year 8 students are introduced to Portraiture and Objects and Viewpoints which develops their understanding of the skills learned during year 7 whilst utilising them to create individual and creative pieces of work.
Currently year 9 students work for the first term on a cross-curricular project within the Specialist subjects of Art, Drama and Music. Presently this has been created around the topic of Identity. For the remainder of the year students will develop a higher skills base through short tasks to create a mini-GCSE project that will prepare students for the type of tasks, complexity and sophistication expected in Key Stage 4 if chosen as an option.
All students in Key Stage 3 are encouraged to develop their 2D and 3D skills by responding to ideas and themes. They are exposed to the four areas of TRICS in line with the whole school policy of Team learners, Reflective learners, Independent learners and Creative learners.
Textiles is a recent expansion for the department and is offered as part of the curriculum. Textile-based work is embedded within the schemes of work delivered and is an ever-growing asset to the department.
Key Stage 4
Students who opt to take Art and Design in Key Stage 4 are offered a choice of GCSE or Level 2 BTEC (Certificate or Extended Certificate) with Edexcel. The breakdown of each course is as follows:
GCSE
Unit 1: Personal Portfolio worth 60% of the overall grade.
Unit 2: Externally Set Assignment worth 40% of the overall grade.
Unit 1 is broken down into two assignments, each assignment expected to take 2 terms to complete (total of 4 terms). Unit 2 is set by the exam board in January for year 11 students. Throughout the GCSE students are expected to develop, refine, record and present their findings competently and fluently.
BTEC Level 2 Certificate (total of 15 credits)
Mandatory units:
Unit 1: Contextual References in Art and Design (worth 10 credits)
Students then choose from unit 2 or 3 to complete the required 15 credits:
Unit 2: 2D Visual Communication (worth 5 credits)
Unit 3: 3D Visual Communication (worth 5 credits)
BTEC Level 2 Extended Certificate (total of 30 credits)
Mandatory units:
Unit 1: Contextual References in Art and Design (worth 10 credits)
Unit 2: 2D Visual Communication (worth 5 credits)
Unit 3: 3D Visual Communication (worth 5 credits)
Students then choose one of the following units (each worth 10 credits) to complete the required 30 credits:
Please note: these units are currently available. The possibility of expanding to cover more units in future is highly likely.
Unit 4: Using Ideas to Explore, Develop and Produce Art and Design
Unit 8: Working with Photography Briefs
Unit 10: Working with Textiles Briefs
Unit 13: Working with Visual Arts Briefs
Unit 14: Working with 3D Design Crafts Briefs
Key Stage 5
Key Stage 5 students are offered Level 3 BTEC or A Level over the two years. The breakdown of each course is as follows:
A Level
The A Level is split over the two year course with students achieving an AS level by the end of the first year (Advanced Subsidiary GCE in Art and Design) and an A Level (A2) by the end of the second year (Advanced GCE in Art and Design). There are 2 units of work to be completed in each year of the course:
Unit 1: AS Art and Design Coursework (worth 60% of the total AS marks or 30% of the total GCE marks)
Unit 2: AS Art and Design Externally Set Assignment (worth 40% of the total AS marks or 20% of the total GCE marks)
Unit 3: A2 Art and Design Coursework (worth 60% of the total A2 marks or 30% of the total GCE marks)
Unit 4: A2 Art and Design Externally Set Assignment (worth 40% of the total A2 marks or 20% of the total A2 marks)
Level 3 BTEC
The Level 3 BTEC Subsidiary Diploma is split over the two year course. The first year students will complete the Level 3 Certificate and continue to achieve the Subsidiary Diploma throughout the second year.
Unit 1: Visual Recording in Art and Design
Unit 2: Materials, Techniques and Processes in Art and Design
Unit 3: Ideas and Concepts in Art and Design
Each of these units is worth 10 credits and forms the Level 3 Certificate, broadly equivalent to an AS level. Throughout the second year of the course students will continue to complete the following units to achieve Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma:
Unit 4: Communication through Art and Design
Plus two additional units which they can choose from over 100 specialist topics based around their individual field of interest.
Taking Art and Design could lead to a wide range of career opportunities such as:
· Fine Art – Painting – Sculpture
· Graphic Design – Magazine Editors – Advertisers
· Web page designer
· Illustrator
· Media – research, reporting, presenting
· Film / Video making – Photography
· Industrial product design
· Fashion and Textile industry
· Jewellery designer
· Architecture – Engineer – Town planner
· Interior design
· Art restoration – Art Historian – Auctioneer
· Teaching – Primary, secondary, Further Education or Higher Education
· Occupational therapy.
Teaching and Learning
Over the last year students have had many opportunities to participate in extra-curricular activities and competitions. Students in Key Stage 4 and 5 are offered many trips to galleries throughout the year in Birmingham and London. Visits to other venues are included within the curriculum and are relevant to the themes of study. Students are expected to record primary sources through first-hand observations during their visits to expand their knowledge and enhance coursework or class work.
All students are encouraged to be independent learners who can develop their skills through experimentation and learning from creative risks. All students are catered for over the VAK spectrum through learning activities and demonstrations.
Artists in residence are used to deliver lessons and aid projects either within structured lessons or through extra-curricular activities. Local artist Barbara Walker visited the school in summer 2011 to enhance student’s skills at creating portraits of the Queen for a competition. Under the school’s recent re-brand the former Annexe building was re-named the Walker building in honour of artist Barbara Walker. Further information on the artist can be found at www.barbarawalker.co.uk
Our school has been enhanced by the artworks of Bruce Jones who has created many large-scale portraits of inspirational figures to display around the school. His influence is also felt in the main corridor by the hall, where there are floor-to-ceiling decorations of the specialism subjects using our students as inspiration.
University students and former Handsworth Wood Girls’ students also deliver workshops to Key Stage 4 and 5 students as part of their professional development. They assist with teaching students new skills and aiding the development and progress of their coursework through specialist tasks.
Assessment
All summative assessment within the department is in line with the schools assessment and recording policy. Key Stage 3 students have a minimum of 6 assessed pieces a year including assessed homework pieces. Key Stage 4 and 5 students are assessed at the end of each unit and given progress and feedback forms at regular intervals.
Homework
Homework is an important part of student learning and is a vital part of the curriculum; it is usually set once a week. Homework is designed to extend and consolidate learning and it is crucially important for student progress. Homework tasks can range from being as simple as colouring something in to as complex as gathering and presenting data through an artistic and individual context. Artists research is often used as it does not require the use of specialist Art equipment at home. We recommend that each student has access to drawing equipment and pencil crayons as a minimum requirement.