Art, Photography & Graphic Design

We aim to create a safe and stimulating environment where we can cater for students of all abilities and value all the work created. We want our students to be independent, creative and not afraid to try out new ideas. A number of extra-curricular art clubs are held both during school time and after, and we are always looking for opportunities to enter regional and national competitions.

We offer students the opportunity to experience a wide variety of media and techniques in a range of disciplines and materials, such as painting and drawing, three-dimensions, mixed media, graphic design, ICT, textiles, animation and digital photography. Students in Year 7, 8 and 9 have a one hour lesson each week.

GCSE students are timetabled for three one hour lessons per week. Students in Year 10 work on three projects (The Basic Skills and Techniques, Abstract and Strange and Architecture) where they explore and develop their skills with a wide range of media, techniques, processes and materials, enabling students to discover their particular strengths. In the Autumn term, Year 11 students respond to a number of themes that they select from a given range. This promotes independence and fosters an understanding of the requirements needed for success in the summer exam. We offer AQA Art and Design (Photography, Graphics) GCSE which allows students to create work in whichever area of Art and Design they feel most comfortable. A number of departmental trips throughout the year help students gather inspiration for their projects; previous ones have included visits to Kew Gardens, The Tate Modern, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The National Portrait Gallery and Brighton.

The department encourages the use and development of ICT skills. All students have access to chromebooks, which they can use in lessons. The Creative Arts department also has a number of desktops that students can use. Frequently used programs include: Pages, Keynote, Word, Pixelmator, Graphic and iMovie.