Art
Curriculum intent and vision
The department offers an inclusive, stimulating and engaging environment. The curriculum provides challenging, inspirational and informative experiences across multiple topics and skills. Students will have tactile and visual opportunities across various disciplines- drawing, painting, clay, sculpture, collage, allowing them all to achieve and create personal responses. This is a rich curriculum that strives to create lifelong skills, independence and engage students in real life experiences both inside and outside school. Students embed subject knowledge and refine their technical skills through a broad range of processes, artists and mediums. We have high expectations for our students to allow them to achieve their best outcome and give them a sense of themselves and the world we live in.
Implementation and design
Clear and comprehensive progression through each key stage building on the foundations of each prior topic and skill. Linking to the national curriculum expectations, we ensure that core skills, materials and experiences are included. Lessons are sequenced to ensure retrieval of prior knowledge and skills are covered across each key stage with the core elements of investigating, experimenting, refining, recording and responding fully embedded within each year group. A range of media is used across each key stage to allow students the freedom to express themselves through multiple experiences and gain an understanding of art, craft and design as a whole. The core skills such as observation, understanding the formal elements and analysis underpin every project and topic to allow students to revisit and refine their skills at every opportunity.
Outcomes and impact
Students should have a good understanding of a range of materials, skills and artists/ genres. Students should have the confidence to explore and experiment with materials and have high expectations for their work and outcomes. Students will feel positive about investigating and problem-solving and will feel encouraged to embark on the sense of creative discovery. Students will have the core skills embedded and will be able to apply these convincingly.
If you would like to get in touch, please e-mail: aci@westfield.academy
Key Stage 3
Year 7
Term 1: Students will begin a project of 'Objects' where teaching is structured around the delivery of the basic elements of art and design - line, tone, form, colour, shape, pattern and texture. Students are made aware of the individual elements through different creative and imaginative tasks. Studying the artists, Jim Dine and Michael Craig-Martin, contextual references will be introduced which reference these elements and a unit of sketchbook work and a final outcome demonstrate the learning.
Term 2: Project will be focussed on 'Insects' where students will explore the shapes, patterns and colours of different creatures. They complete drawings from secondary sources using a range of materials from oil pastels, collage and clay. Throughout this project there will be a focus on experimenting with a range of materials and techniques to engage and inspire students.
Term 3: The theme of the term is 'Cityscapes' and in this unit, students are encouraged to explore a diverse range of work from different artists who have been inspired by this theme. The students will focus on Stephen Wiltshire's use of tone and form as well as Hundertwasser's use of shape, colour and pattern. Throughout the project, students will create tonal buildings, explore the use of colour and shape, as well as experiment with printmaking.
Year 8
Term 1: Over the whole year, students will complete an 'Art through the ages' project looking on key points in art history. Students will begin the year creating an art history timeline, exploring history and culture. Practical work will focus on techniques used from Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Favism. Students will learn about key artists, using a range of materials from painting, drawing and oil pastels.
Term 2: Students will continue the 'Art through the ages' project looking at Cubism to create Picasso faces using collage and clay. Following this, students will look at Surrealist techniques to create a Magritte inspired room using watercolours. They will begin to understand different techniques and processes, becoming more familiar with different styles of art.
Term 3: The next part of their project will be Pop Art where students will compete observational drawings, transcriptions of artists work and look at lettering to create onomatopoeia words. Students will work towards producing a final Pop Art outcome combining these techniques. The final part of the project will be based on Young British Artists, where students will understand how these artists used shock tactics to become well known.
At the end of Year 8, students make their choices for GCSE.
Key Stage 4
Year 9
In Year 9, students will complete two projects, 'Natural forms' and 'Portraits'. Both projects will be focused on students gaining skills and knowledge of a range of artists and techniques which can be used for GCSE. Within both projects, students will complete sketchbook pages to present their word to the GCSE standard.
Within 'Natural forms', students will learn about how to create successful observational drawings using tone, painting using both watercolours and acrylics, use of collage and oil pastels as well as many other techniques. Students will study the work of Georgia O'Keeffe, Tamara Armstrong, Paul Cezanne and Karl Blossfelt. Within the project, students will complete sketchbook pages to present their work to the GCSE standard.
The 'Portraits' project will be focused around learning how to draw the proportions of the face and create a realistic self-portrait. Students will learn how to create tones, mix skin tones and use paint more effectively. They will also look at a range of artists and how they have approached portraits in different ways.
Year 10
During Year 10, students will complete two projects, ‘Arrangements’ and ‘Identity’. Both projects will be focused on students gaining skills and knowledge of a range of artists and techniques which can be used for GCSE. Within both projects, students will complete sketchbook pages to present their work to the GCSE standard.
In the ‘Arrangements’ project, students will learn about how a range of artists have approached still life in different ways whilst learning a range of techniques. Students will look at Giorgio Morandi, Wayne Thiebaud, Sarah Graham and Kate Talbot, just to name a few. Within this project, students will develop and refine their skills and understanding of materials whilst experimenting with printmaking, textiles, embroidery and batik.
Following on from their knowledge of portraits in Year 9, students will begin an ‘Identity’ project, looking at how artists have represented themselves or others in different ways. Students will use a range of techniques to create work linking to artists such as Frida Kahlo, David Hockney, Bisa Butler, Chuck Close and Loui Jover. This work will allow students to think about art differently to more traditional techniques.
Year 11
Students in Year 11 will complete two projects for their GCSE grade.
60 percent of their final grade will be based on their controlled assessment coursework. This project will be focused around the theme of ‘Fragments’. Within this project, students will study and analyse a range of artists, create initial responses including drawings and photo edits, develop their own ideas, experiment with materials before producing their final piece.
40 percent of students' final grade will be based on the externally set assessment. This project will be based on a theme set by the exam board. This project will be set out in a similar format to their previous project.
At the end of both projects, students will complete an extended piece of work, or final piece during a 10-hour period.
Key Stage 5
The Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCSE in Art and Design consists of two components, both teacher assessed and externally moderated by the exam board.
Personal Investigation – Unit 1
This is a portfolio of work that demonstrates students ability to research, develop, explore, and analyse ideas. Students will undertake an induction period where they will complete workshop based lessons, and they will be introduced or re-introduced to a broad range of different materials and practices.
Students will then create a mock project to help them understand the structure of an A-Level project. Within this project, students will study and analyse a range of artists, create initial responses including drawings and photo edits, develop their own ideas, experiment with materials before producing their final piece.
In the Summer term of Year 12 and through to the start of the Spring term of Year 13 students will take a more independent path and develop their Personal Investigation further and effectively conclude a piece of work in a discipline(s) of their choice (60% of the full A-level).
Externally set assignment – Unit 4
This is set by the exam board and papers will be issued in February of Year 13. Students will be given a 10-week preparatory period running up to the exam. In this time, they will complete preliminary research and studies supported by the department. The final exam is a 20-hour controlled period where students produce an unaided significant piece of work (40% of the full A-Level).
Resources: The department is very well resourced with two dedicated rooms together with a Sixth Form study area. There is excellent access to IT, including computer workstations, digital cameras, image manipulation software, two data projectors and graphics tablets.
The department is well stocked with visual resources and a wide collection of reference books. The library additionally has an excellent collection of art books. Both rooms are set up for 3D and 2D work, including print-making, clay, plaster, paint and mixed-media.
Exams & Assessment
GCSE
Examination Board: Edexcel
- Controlled assessment: 60%
- Externally set assignment: 40%
A-Level
Examination Board: Edexcel
- Personal Investigation - Unit 1: 60% of the full A-Level
- Externally set assignment - Unit 4: 40% of the full-A Level
Enrichment & Extracurricular
The Creative Arts department has many extracurricular activities to offer including Arts Award. Students will be given the opportunity to complete Bronze level Arts Award where they will be required to attend sessions, complete a booklet and attend a trip. This is an excellent opportunity for students to learn more about art careers, learn new skills, attend enrichment activities as well as interact with other students.
Throughout the year, the Art department holds various art competitions for all year groups. These can be either in school or country-wide competitions.
Visits
Over the year, the Art department will offer various trips to GCSE and A-Level students, including attending art galleries, museums and workshops.