Art and Photography

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” Scott Adams

The Art and Design Department is a caring and supportive environment that prides itself on ensuring that each student’s needs, interests and aspirations are met.The department aims toprovide students the opportunity to practise and study a deeply rewarding subject – a subject which will take them far beyond the narrow confines of any exam specification, and that will in time become an interest for life.

The Department’s purpose is to enable students to explore and express concepts, materials, imagination and feelings. A rich and vibrant Art and Design curriculum is in place for all students across all ages. A balanced course provides a broad base to enable students to fulfill their potential and will be provided according to the individual needs and abilities of students. Therefore, we aim to deliver a curriculum, which encourages broader skills of investigation, problem solving, critical thinking and communication as well as the ability to co-operate with others and to manage and improve own learning.

Pedagogic approaches are largely based upon practical work designed to provide and develop opportunities to improve upon skills. These are applied to creative projects but we also recognise and value class discussion and individual research and learn about other artists and art history abound.

The Art and Design department seeks to raise the profile of Visual Arts in the school and to stress its essential role in the development of the whole person.

Aims:

To 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 Design and to experience success and enjoyment in their work.
To allow students to develop informed opinions and to be able to support them by reasonable arguments free from prejudicial intolerance.
To enable students to record from first-hand experience and from imagination, and to select their own ideas to use in their work
To develop creativity and imagination through a range of media and processes
To improve the students ability to control materials, tools and techniques
To increase students critical awareness of the roles and purposes of Art and Design in History.
To develop increasing confidence in the use of visual and tactile elements and materials
To foster an enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts and a knowledge of artists, craftspeople and designers by attending school trips to galleries and museums, visiting artists, workshops etc.

Meet our Teachers