Art & Design
Art & Design
The fundamental essence of the course is creativity and originality, which is an essential element in careers such as architecture, graphic design, illustration, film production design, animation, interior design, and fine art. For those not wishing to pursue Art at university, an A Level in Fine Art illustrates a creative mind, which is an important aspect in all areas of academic study.
The course is based on a single project - the Personal Investigation. and an exam project - The Externally Set Task. Included, and running parallel with the Personal Investigation is the Related study - a written element of research which is marked independently. The theme of the investigation is decided by the student, and the theme for the Externally Set Task is chosen from a list of questions in the exam paper.
The focus of year 12 is the Personal Investigation and Related Study. Themes could include- Portraiture, Landscape, Cityscapes etc.
Classwork will be experimental and homework, which will consist of written analysis into a range of contemporary artists, presentation and experimentation, will be done in the Research book, which will build into a wonderful collection of Images and analysis. The written element of the homework will build up into the Related Study.
You will experiment with a wide range of materials and techniques, including expressive mark-making, painting, print-making and mixed media.
Research into contemporary artists will play an important role in informing your work, as well as creating a foundation for experimentation and creative development.
The Personal Investigation will continue until the end of January in the Spring term.
The examination project- Externally Set Task- will begin on the 1st of Feb- Spring Term.
The Externally Set Task is the same format as the Personal Investigation, but without the related study.
It will end with a Controlled Test, which takes place over 3 days and is a total of 15 hours, and it is usually used to create the final piece. The controlled test usually takes place around the end of April.
The A Level will be assessed by means of two units.
Unit 1- Personal Investigation—60% of overall grade.
Unit 2- Externally Set Task—40% of overall grade.
The Examination Board is OCR. You can link to the full specification here.
There is no mock examination and no formal written examination.
The examination is made up of background work and a controlled test.
The controlled test is 15 hours, and taken over 3 days.
There will be opportunities for gallery trips throughout the course.
You may sit the AS Level, but it is separate from the A Level. There is no coursework and the examination is 100% of the overall grade.
If you have any queries about this curriculum, please contact: Mr James Suret, Head of Art & Design, on jxs@farlingtonschool.com