The umbrella that is Art & Design encompasses a wide range of fields within it, namely the following titles:
- Art, Craft & Design (work must cover at least 2 of the specialist areas listed below)
- Fine Art
- Graphic Communication
- Textile Design
- Photography
- Three Dimensional Design
You may produce work under any of these titles. If you have a preference for a particular strand of Art & Design as listed above, then you should consider specialising in that field at this level. If you prefer not to specialise then you should enter for the title: Fine Art or Art, Craft & Design where you can work with a range of specialisms. Your teachers and our departmental facilities are equipped to enable you to produce work in any title within Art & Design. Grade 6 or above at GCSE is advisable since the level of technical skill required at A-Level is much higher than expectations at GCSE. The course is similarly structured to GCSE but work produced explores ideas in greater depth and skills displayed are of a higher standard and quality.
The AS course is a natural extension to GCSE, following a very similar structure. It is comprised of a Personal Creative Enquiry worth 100% of the mark. Students are expected to demonstrate abilities to research and investigate a theme, explore and develop ideas through thorough experimentation with materials and techniques all of which culminates in a final piece that demonstrates skills learnt along the way.
At AS the coursework component is teacher-led initially in order to ensure that students develop their knowledge of artists, styles, techniques and materials in greater depth. Students will then develop their own thread of investigations. Research and development work is done in lessons and in study periods. Students will then have to select from the work done and present a finalised submission to show off their best outcomes and explorations. Intentions must be clearly identified and analysis is key to show development and understanding.
Grade 6 or above at GCSE is advisable since the level of technical skill required at A-Level is much higher than at GCSE. The course is similarly structured to GCSE but work produced explores ideas in greater depth and skills displayed are of a higher standard and quality. Students who have not done GCSE Art are welcome to study Photography or Graphic Communication at A-Level. We ask these students to apply with a supporting portfolio of work.
| Key Course Details | |
|---|---|
| Exam board | AQA |
| Assessment | Coursework (60%) |
| Externally set assignment (40%) |
