Art & Design
Art & Design
The fundamental essence of the GCSE Art & Design 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, the study of art and creativity illustrates a creative mind, which is an important aspect in all areas of academic study. The study of GCSE Art & Design is also a lovely balance to more academic areas of study.
Throughout the course, 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 entire course has three projects: the Year 10 Mini Project and the Major Portrait Project - which make up the Portfolio/Coursework (60% of overall mark), and the Externally Set Task/Examination Project (40% of overall mark).
Year 10 will start with a Mini Project of your choice, but not portraiture, and it will last until half term of the Spring Term.
The Major Portrait Project will start after half term of the Spring Term.
The emphasis for all of the projects will be on drawing, experimenting, researching artists, developing ideas, and writing about each process using the appropriate language.
The Major Portrait Project will continue until the end of the Autumn Term. This is when all ideas and research will be developed towards a final outcome/final piece. All work must include writing explaining the creative process and ideas.
The Externally Set Task/Examination Project will begin on January 1st - the Spring Term of Year 11. It is structured in the same way as the Major Portrait Project and the assessment objectives remain the same.
The GCSE will be assessed by means of two units:
Unit 1 is the Portfolio/Coursework - 60% of the overall grade. This is complied of the Year 10 Project and the Major Portrait Project.
Unit 2 is the Externally Set Task/Examination Project - 40% of the overall grade. At the end of this project you will be required to create a piece of work - usually the final piece - over a period of 10 hours, set across two days.
The examination board is AQA and the specification code is 8202. You can see the full specification here.
The assessment objectives are listed below:
AO1: Develop ideas through investigations, demonstrating critical understanding of sources
AO2: Refine work by exploring ideas, selecting and experimenting with appropriate media, materials, techniques and processes
AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions as work progresses
AO3: Presenting a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language.
If you have any queries about this curriculum, please contact: Mr James Suret, Head of Art, on jxs@farlingtonschool.com