Creative Arts is the soul of Holyhead School. The arts feeds into the cultural diversity of its local environment, developing character and nurturing students to show tolerance and passion for all aspects of the arts in the most expressive way. Our curriculum and our faculty is practical, hands on and interactive. We explore relevant topics, cultural currency and embed fundamental life long skills. We seek opportunities for the children we teach, both inside and outside of lessons, to ensure that our students get a full experience of the industry, the subjects and in turn, develop a love for music, dance, art and drama.

Mrs C Brandy

Director of Learning for Creative Arts

Mrs Y Geddes

Assistant Director of Learning (Music)

Mrs S Stafford

Subject Lead (Art)

Art and Design

Art, craft and design embody some of the highest forms of human creativity. A high-quality art and design education should engage, inspire and challenge students, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. As students progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. They should also know how art and design both reflect and shape our history, and contribute to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.

Drama

Drama is a vital part of student's’ learning experience at Holyhead . It enables students the ability to communicate and work together. We believe in the holistic development of the child and so whilst it is important that students do improve and hone their performance skills we place a lot of emphasis on the students developing skills for life. We focus on the Creating , performing and responding areas of Drama and encourage students to identify where they are meeting the whole school expectations of respect, excellence and responsibility in all that they do.

Music

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high quality music education should engage and inspire students to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As students progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.

Key Stage 3

We aim to ensure that all students...

Art

produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences.
become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design.
know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.

Drama

Learn to imitate real life scenarios in a safe and creative environment, that allows students to view a variety topics from different perspectives
Learn the basic performance skills of using their voice, body language, facial expressions, gestures with some confidence during rehearsal stages and in performance.
Understand how a performance is put together by viewing backstage tours of theatres and having sequenced lessons that allows students to to ownership of the planning of their own pieces.
Explore different forms of theatre ranging from script, devising, melodrama and mime.
By the end of Key Stage 3, students are expected to understand the work of two key theatre practitioners- Brecht and Stanislavsky.

Music

perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

Enrichment opportunities

There is a KS3 Drama club during lunch times. This is where student get the opportunity to meet with other students across the kesy stage. They get to focus on specific specialists read and get to perform in some of the school's annual performances, Black History Month showcase, Christmas Assemblies, Presentation evening and whole school production.

Art

Students will be taught…

to use a range of techniques to record their observations in sketchbooks, journals and other media as a basis for exploring their ideas
to use a range of techniques and media, including painting
to increase their proficiency in the handling of different materials
to analyse and evaluate their own work, and that of others, in order to strengthen the visual impact or applications of their work
about the history of art, craft, design and architecture, including periods, styles and major movements from ancient times up to the present day.

Drama

Students will be taught…

How to work as a team to be successful in creating and performing
Understand what is improvisation skill in comparison to skills needed for script work
Discipline of working with masks, melodrama and devising
How to use strategies in drama to help develop and character in depth, hot seating, conscious alley, role on the wall
How to use lighting and sound for mood and atmosphere
Different staging style and how they are matched to different performance style
Who is Stanislavsky? Looking at naturalism theatre.
Who is Brecht? Looking at Epic theatre

Music

Students will be taught to…

play and perform confidently in a range of solo and ensemble contexts using their voice, playing instruments musically, fluently and with accuracy and expression
improvise and compose; and extend and develop musical ideas by drawing on a range of musical structures, styles, genres and traditions
use staff and other relevant notations appropriately and accurately in a range of musical styles, genres and traditions
identify and use the inter-related dimensions of music expressively and with increasing sophistication, including use of tonalities, different types of scales and other musical devices
listen with increasing discrimination to a wide range of music from great composers and musicians
develop a deepening understanding of the music that they perform and to which they listen, and its history.

Key Stage 4

In Key Stage 4, students can choose to study the AQA GCSE Art course, the Pearson Edexcel BTEC Level 1/Level 2 Tech Award in Performing Arts course, and the RSL Level 2 Certificate in Performance for Music Practitioners (Performing). These qualifications count towards the 'Open element' of the English Baccalaureate.

AQA Level 1/Level 2 GCSE (9-1) in Art and Design

Qualification aims and objectives

Courses based on this specification should encourage students to:

actively engage in the creative process of art, craft and design in order to develop as effective and independent learners, and as critical and reflective thinkers with enquiring minds
develop creative, imaginative and intuitive capabilities when exploring and making images, artefacts and products
become confident in taking risks and learn from experience when exploring and experimenting with ideas, processes, media, materials and techniques
develop critical understanding through investigative, analytical, experimental, practical, technical and expressive skills
develop and refine ideas and proposals, personal outcomes or solutions with increasing independence
acquire and develop technical skills through working with a broad range of media, materials, techniques, processes and technologies with purpose and intent
develop knowledge and understanding of art, craft and design in historical and contemporary contexts, societies and cultures
develop an awareness of the different roles and individual work practices evident in the production of art, craft and design in the creative and cultural industries
develop an awareness of the purposes, intentions and functions of art, craft and design in a variety of contexts and as appropriate to students’ own work
demonstrate safe working practices in art, craft and design.

Pearson Edexcel BTEC Level 1/Level 2 Tech Award in Performing Arts

Qualification aims and objectives

The Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 Tech Award in Performing Arts (Qualification Number: 603/0406/6), is for learners who want to acquire technical knowledge and technical skills through vocational contexts by studying acting, dance or musical theatre as part of their Key Stage 4 learning. The qualification recognises the value of learning skills, knowledge and vocational attributes to complement GCSEs. The qualification will broaden the learners experience and understanding of the varied progression options available to them.

What does the qualification cover?

The Award gives learners the opportunity to develop sector-specific knowledge and skills in a practical learning environment. The main focus is on four areas of equal importance, which cover the:

development of key skills that prove your aptitude in Performing Arts such as reproducing repertoire or responding to stimuli
process that underpins effective ways of working in the Performing Arts, such as development of ideas, rehearsal and performance • attitudes that are considered most important in the Performing Arts, including personal management and communication
knowledge that underpins effective use of skills, process and attitudes in the sector such as roles, responsibilities, performance disciplines and styles.

This Award complements the learning in GCSE programmes such as GCSE Drama and GCSE Dance by broadening experience and skills participation in different type of performance activities with the opportunity to practically apply your knowledge and skills, through project work such as developing ideas and performing for specific audiences.

What can the qualification lead to?

Study of the qualification as part of Key Stage 4 learning will help learners to make more informed choices for further learning, either generally or in this sector. The choices that learners can make post-16 will depend on their overall level of attainment and their performance in the qualification. Learners who generally achieve at Level 2 across their Key Stage 4 learning might consider progression to:

A Levels as preparation for entry to higher education in a range of subjects
study of a vocational qualification at Level 3, such as a BTEC National in Performing Arts, which prepares learners to enter employment or apprenticeships, or to move on to higher education by studying a degree in the Performing Arts or Production Arts areas.

Learners who generally achieve at Level 1 across their Key Stage 4 learning might consider progression to:

study at Level 2 post-16 in a range of technical routes designed to lead to work, to progression to employment, to apprenticeships or to further study at Level 3. For these learners, the attitudes and the reflective and communication skills covered in this qualification will help them achieve
study of Performing Arts post-16 through the study of a technical certificate. Learners who perform strongly in this qualification compared to their overall performance should strongly consider this progression route as it can lead ultimately to employment in the performing arts sector.

RSL Level 2 Certificate in Performance for Music Practitioners (Performing)

Qualification aims and objectives

These qualifications provide vocationally relevant courses in popular music, which allow for progression into a higher level of study and/or the industry. They focus upon the recognition of achievement through the acquisition of knowledge and practical musical skills, as well as offering flexibility of unit selection.

The aim of these qualifications is to provide learners with the knowledge and range of skills needed to progress them towards being able to operate successfully as performing musicians and producers.

Learners will:

understand theoretical and contextual issues relating to music style, audience and the music industry;
perform effectively on their instrument/voice;
rehearse and display musicianship skills;
initiate and develop repertoire;
rehearse effectively and perform music live;
understand relevant aspects of music technology.

Through developing the skills, knowledge and understanding outlined above, learners are provided with the basis for further development with the ultimate aim being the creation of a musician with the knowledge and skills-set to be able to perform and record music in a professional capacity (i.e. be a recording and performing artist). The core unit together with the optional units selected have been carefully chosen to reflect these aims.

The broad objectives are:

To focus delivery and assessment on knowledge and understanding together with practical music making and music production through learner centred activity;
To make the qualifications relevant to a wide variety of applications from FE provision through to schools and Youth and Creative Apprenticeships and e-learning;
To embed transferable skills and key skills into the qualifications

AQA-ART-GCSE-SP-2016.PDF

GCSE Art and Design

9781446939628_BTEC_L1L2_AWD_PA_SPEC.pdf

BTEC Performing Arts

MUSPRA Level 1 & 2 TAs (Perf. Tables) Syllabus Document.pdf

Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance

Art & Design Poster.pdf

Design Technology & Engineering Poster.pdf

Drama & Music Poster.pdf

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