Art & Photography

Highgate Wood School’s Art department is a busy, vibrant place. We have four well equipped art studios, as well as a photographic dark room and access to a dedicated media suite.

The art department aims to engage and excite students about the world of art, craft and design. Art and design includes fine art, illustration, collage, graphic design, sculpture, photography and printing. We are committed to delivering a curriculum accessible to all; structuring tasks throughout the three years of KS3 so that all students are supported and encouraged. We want our students to become confident and creative learners who can work independently and develop their own personal responses.

Our curriculum ensures that students develop their skills using a range of techniques and processes. An important element is personal choice when responding to a series of themes and titles. At key stage three they will increase their proficiency in a range of techniques and media, to analyse their own work and the work of others. We want them to explore their own imaginations and to be able to decode the visual world of TV, advertising and digital media that surrounds them. They will also be taught the history of art, craft and design so that they are able to contextualise the important developments and major artists.

During each year all students will become familiar with three artistic processes; developing their projects in a variety of ways in order to reach successful conclusions and visual outcomes. Our curriculum develops competencies such as decision making, independent working, project development and creative thinking; all of which are highly valuable assets. The level of personal choice in our curriculum offer also enables our students to develop meaning and message in their work which provides students with a creative outlet to explore a variety of social and personal issues. We encourage many of our students to take up GCSE art design, our nine term KS3 course works as a standalone introduction to the world of art but is also an excellent preparation for KS4.

Key Stage 3 students receive three hours of art lessons a fortnight and follow a programme that is designed to introduce them to a wide variety of ways of creating art, design and craft. The KS3 schemes of work prepare students for further study at GCSE.

Many students opt to study Art and Design at GCSE and enjoy considerable success, both in terms of their examination results and in terms of their developing artistry, creativity and skill.

 

Assessment is initially by individual teacher (all our art teachers are officially teacher/examiners), work is internally moderated and then moderated to national standard by visiting external examiners.

Component 1 Controlled Assessment (45 hours): One Portfolio project 60%

Component 2 Exam project (10 hours): Externally set assignment 40%

Emphasis is on experiencing art in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries through a series of methods and processes. Each component develops into personal work that leads up to a two day exam where the students produce a final piece of work.

Component 1:

Students are assessed on 45 hours of work produced in controlled classroom conditions. The portfolio produced in this component is worth 60% of the final grade.

First project: Surfaces
Second project: Revolution

Component 2:

Term 5: Externally Set Assignment in Art and Design Producing a personal outcome or outcomes under exam conditions within 10 hours. Students demonstrate knowledge and skills they have learned during Component 1, under controlled conditions. Each component is assessed using the following four assessment objectives, each worth 25% of the overall:

AO1: develop their ideas through investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and cultural understanding.

AO2: refine their ideas through experimenting and selecting appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes.

AO3: record ideas, observations and insights relevant to their intentions in visual and/or other forms.

AO4: present a personal, informed and meaningful response, demonstrating analytical and critical.

Art

At A level we offer an unendorsed Art and Design AS and A2. We also offer Photography at AS and A2. Students are encouraged to generate and develop ideas, research primary and contextual sources, record practical and written observations, experiment with media and processes, and refine ideas towards producing personal resolved outcome(s).

Art and Design is an excellent creative pathway to a wide range of practical and academic subjects at degree level. Many of our students progress to a one year Foundation Diploma course and then on to creative degree courses and careers. Others, use the experience of Art & Design to provide a creative balance to their other subjects.

We have approximately seventy students studying at A level and many of our students move on to Art, Design and Photography degree and foundation courses at institutes such as: Chelsea College of Art, Central St Martins, London College of Fashion, Byam Shaw, London College of Communication and Middlesex University.

Photography

Students are introduced to a variety of experiences that explore a range of photographic media, techniques and processes and are made aware of both traditional and new technologies. During the course students explore relevant images, artefacts and resources relating to a range of art, craft and design, from the past and from recent times, including European and non-European examples. This should be integral to the investigating and making processes. Students’ responses to these examples must be shown through practical and critical activities that demonstrate their understanding of different styles, genres and traditions.

Photography is connected to every facet of daily life, including television, film, journalism, art, politics, history and music. Exploring the ideas, history, contexts and techniques of visual representation, as well as helping students develop the practical skills they need in modern photography – taking photographs and manipulating these images – will provide valuable training for those who wish to pursue a future in art or the media. Photography also combines well with a huge range of other subjects. Many careers involve some aspect of photography, ranging from journalism and film to radiography and surveying.

Key Stage 3

Key Stage 3 students receive three hours of art lessons a fortnight and follow a programme that is designed to introduce them to a wide variety of ways of creating art, design and craft. The KS3 schemes of work prepare students for further study at GCSE.

Many students opt to study Art and Design at GCSE and enjoy considerable success, both in terms of their examination results and in terms of their developing artistry, creativity and skill.

 

Key Stage 4

Assessment is initially by individual teacher (all our art teachers are officially teacher/examiners), work is internally moderated and then moderated to national standard by visiting external examiners.

Component 1 Controlled Assessment (45 hours): One Portfolio project 60%

Component 2 Exam project (10 hours): Externally set assignment 40%

Emphasis is on experiencing art in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries through a series of methods and processes. Each component develops into personal work that leads up to a two day exam where the students produce a final piece of work.

Component 1:

Students are assessed on 45 hours of work produced in controlled classroom conditions. The portfolio produced in this component is worth 60% of the final grade.

First project: Surfaces
Second project: Revolution

Component 2:

Term 5: Externally Set Assignment in Art and Design Producing a personal outcome or outcomes under exam conditions within 10 hours. Students demonstrate knowledge and skills they have learned during Component 1, under controlled conditions. Each component is assessed using the following four assessment objectives, each worth 25% of the overall:

AO1: develop their ideas through investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and cultural understanding.

AO2: refine their ideas through experimenting and selecting appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes.

AO3: record ideas, observations and insights relevant to their intentions in visual and/or other forms.

AO4: present a personal, informed and meaningful response, demonstrating analytical and critical.

Key Stage 5

Art

At A level we offer an unendorsed Art and Design AS and A2. We also offer Photography at AS and A2. Students are encouraged to generate and develop ideas, research primary and contextual sources, record practical and written observations, experiment with media and processes, and refine ideas towards producing personal resolved outcome(s).

Art and Design is an excellent creative pathway to a wide range of practical and academic subjects at degree level. Many of our students progress to a one year Foundation Diploma course and then on to creative degree courses and careers. Others, use the experience of Art & Design to provide a creative balance to their other subjects.

We have approximately seventy students studying at A level and many of our students move on to Art, Design and Photography degree and foundation courses at institutes such as: Chelsea College of Art, Central St Martins, London College of Fashion, Byam Shaw, London College of Communication and Middlesex University.

Photography

Students are introduced to a variety of experiences that explore a range of photographic media, techniques and processes and are made aware of both traditional and new technologies. During the course students explore relevant images, artefacts and resources relating to a range of art, craft and design, from the past and from recent times, including European and non-European examples. This should be integral to the investigating and making processes. Students’ responses to these examples must be shown through practical and critical activities that demonstrate their understanding of different styles, genres and traditions.

Photography is connected to every facet of daily life, including television, film, journalism, art, politics, history and music. Exploring the ideas, history, contexts and techniques of visual representation, as well as helping students develop the practical skills they need in modern photography – taking photographs and manipulating these images – will provide valuable training for those who wish to pursue a future in art or the media. Photography also combines well with a huge range of other subjects. Many careers involve some aspect of photography, ranging from journalism and film to radiography and surveying.

Additional Information

We present three major exhibitions a year; a year seven cross-curricular show in December/January, a year 11 GCSE show in May and a combined Art and Photography A level show in July.

We hope that our students enjoy art at Highgate Wood and that they are able to flourish within a creative supportive environment.

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