Handsworth Grammar School

Art & Design

The aims of the teaching of Art at HGS are to:

  • stimulate student curiosity, interest and enjoyment in Art
  • enable students to be familiar with a body of artistic knowledge, skills, principles and vocabulary, e.g. students should be competent and confident in:
    • producing images and works of art
    • responding to works produced by others, and to features of the natural and man-made environment, with reasoned arguments
  • enable students to perceive Art as:
    • a major cultural feature
    • part of a wider body of knowledge and skills (e.g. to be able to work both independently and co-operatively)
  • employ teaching methods and resources that allow all students (irrespective of their gender, ethnic origin, academic ability etc.) to have equal access to Art and to experience success and employment in their work
  • develop an awareness in students of:
    • the implications for Art (past and present) for the individual and the local, national and international communities
    • the significance of Art and to value it as an important, pleasurable and fundamental realm of human experience
    • enable students to develop a range of desirable, personal qualities such as safety measures, politeness, perseverance, initiative and independence

Key Stage 3

Art and design offers opportunities for pupils to:

  • develop their creativity and imagination through visual, tactile and sensory experiences
  • develop practical, technical and critical skills and use visual and tactile language to communicate their ideas, feelings and meanings
  • learn to make value judgements and aesthetic and practical decisions, becoming actively involved in shaping environments
  • explore ideas and meanings in the work of artists, craftspeople and designers and learn about the diverse roles and functions of art, craft and design in the contemporary world and in the different times and cultures.

Content

  • in art and design, pupils develop skills in order to be able to:
    • explore and develop ideas
    • investigate and make art, craft and design
    • evaluate and develop work
  • they acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of:
    • the visual and tactile qualities of materials and processes and how these can be manipulated and matched to ideas, purposes and audiences
    • codes and conventions and how these are used to represent ideas, beliefs and values in works of art, craft and design
    • continuity and change in the purposes and audiences of artists, craftspeople and designers from Western Europe and the wider world

GCSE

In GCSE Art and Design the coursework projects enable the students to develop highly personal artwork, working progressively with more confidence and independence. The longer period of the time devoted to each project or unit enables a number of ambitious and various responses, often leading to further development and larger-scale work. Research, experimentation and modification will ideally take place within the right encouragement. The new specification requirement of three coursework projects for assessment gives greater flexibility. Some specialist teachers may still require students to complete more than three projects, sometimes even five, from which the strongest three are submitted for marking. Others may stick with the three units but push the breadth of the work, or perhaps encourage students to tackle larger-scale pieces. With the Art and Design terminal examination being one of the earliest on the calendar, the time available for the coursework units is a little over four terms, and students can realistically be expected to complete a unit over the space of one term.

Advanced Level (OCR)

In all units, candidates cover the knowledge, understanding and skills specified by the QCA subject criteria. The assessment covers the assessment objectives specified in the subject criteria set by QCA. In so doing, the specifications build on the knowledge, skills and understanding established at GCSE and GNVQ Intermediate, while ensuring that breadth is developed at AS and depth is achieved at Advanced GCE. Breadth is achieved by the candidates' engaging in the creative process of exploring a range of ideas, skills and materials to develop their own visual explorations. Depth is achieved through sustained personal involvement in selected visual processes, resulting in significant artistic attainment. Progression from breadth to depth, from AS to A2 is achieved by the various units emphasising particular assessment objectives. This ensures that the specifications have a developmental nature.