Art & Design

At all levels, Art & Design has three core elements: 

  1. Expressive practical 
  2. Design Practical
  3. Critical  

Expressive Practical

The Expressive Practical element gives our students the opportunity to develop both their visual understanding and their materials handling skills. Pupils will develop the ability to draw ever more accurately both in two and three-dimensions, while exploring a rage of art materials and artistic techniques. 

 

In the lower school, our expressive practical projects are initially teacher designed and led but as our students progress up through the school, they are given ever more autonomy to devise and create their own expressive projects.


Design Practical

The design practical element gives our students the chance to explore a range of design disciplines. They are given the opportunity to investigate other designer's works before compiling relevant market research, and being taught how to develop their own ideas ready to be brought to a refined conclusion. 

 

Like in the expressive practical element of the course, our design projects are initially teacher led but our students are given ever more autonomy to devise and create their own design projects as they progress through the school.

Critical

Another important part of the Art & Design course is the critical element. The critical course encourages our students to explore, and be critical of, other artist's and designers' works. It introduces them to art and design vocabulary and supports them to be able to make extended, justified comments about artists, designers and their works. The critical course also encourages our students to apply the principles about which they are learning to their own works while also developing their ability to be critical regarding their own approach.