GCSE Art, Craft and Design is a broad and flexible course where students use a variety of two-dimensional and three-dimensional media, materials, techniques and processes to create personal, practical responses.

The personal response, encouraged by the syllabus, stimulates students’ imagination, sensitivity, conceptual thinking, powers of observation and analytical ability. Students develop confidence and enthusiasm in the process of art and design as they gain the technical skills to form, compose and communicate in different media. The study of Art, Craft and Design at GCSE leads to a wider awareness of the role that art and design plays in society and in history. It broadens students’ cultural horizons, enriches individual experience and is a major opportunity for students to develop critical thinking and creative problem solving skills.

The subject is a strong foundation for IBDP Visual Arts at both Higher and Standard levels.

Within a studio environment, students learn how to structure a successful investigation from initial concept to final outcome. They are encouraged to take responsibility for their learning and an emphasis on independence is supported through appropriate teacher-led activities and structured resources. Students study a variety of techniques covering, but not limited to, the disciplines of Fine Art, Photography, Graphic Communication and Three-dimensional Design. They may also study processes such as digital media, illustration, collage, textiles and mixed media. Contextual understanding of artists, craftspeople and designers is an integral component of each unit and the analysis of appropriate work informs students’ own practice.

Students develop strengths and skills in the following areas:

• independent learning, time management, confidence in decision- making, problem solving and research

• creative and imaginative expression through the fine motor skills necessary for communicating ideas

• investigative, analytical, experimental and interpretive capabilities

• aesthetic understanding

• understanding of codes and conventions of art and design and awareness of the contexts in which they operate

• knowledge and understanding of art, craft and design in contemporary society and in other times and cultures

Special requirements

Students should be prepared to work outside lesson time to further develop their work. This may include using the art classroom during lunch or after school in negotiation with their teacher. Students are encouraged to visit galleries and exhibitions to gather visual information during the two years and are expected to exhibit their work when the opportunity arises. All students will exhibit a selection of their work in the annual High School Art Exhibition during Term 2.

Successful completion of this course will lead to the Pearson Edexcel qualification GCSE Art and Design: Art, Craft and Design (9-1).

Coursework: Personal Portfolio – 60%

The assessment of a final portfolio of work is based upon how well students can:

• develop ideas in response to others’ artwork, understanding their context and make connections with their own

• experiment with a range of media, collecting and presenting creatively and coherently

• develop, explore, and review ideas

• achieve their planned aims and intentions when producing a finished piece of work

Examination: externally set assignment – 40%

At the end of the course, students take a practical examination worth 40% of their grade. The 10-hour exam is taken over two days in April. In Term 2, students receive an examination paper containing a specific theme that suggests several different starting points for investigation. Students have approximately eight taught weeks prior to the examination to plan and prepare and explore their ideas, with the teacher’s guidance, ready for the examination. In the examination, students are expected to resolve their ideas in the form of a highly personalised and contextualised final outcome. Students are assessed on both their preparation work and the final outcome produced in the examination, using the same criteria used in the coursework assessment.

For details of the Art, Craft and Design syllabus, click here.