photograhy

GCSE photography

Examination Board: AQA

WHY SHOULD STUDENTS CHOOSE GCSE photography?

Photography is an exciting, creative and technologically current subject that caters for all students. For this course you can produce ONLY Photographic and digital outcomes, however, these could be presented in various forms. There will be a lot of annotation and analysis about your own work and that of photographers that will be assessed alongside your photographic outcomes. You will be expected to produce work using Photoshop and other image manipulation software.

WHAT WILL STUDENTS NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS COURSE?

This course is suitable for students of all abilities. You should ideally have a proven track record in terms of your attitude to learning in Art. We encourage students to discuss with us how we might be able to support them. They must be enthusiastic about Art, Design and Photography, and love working with a wide range of materials and techniques in a practical and creative environment.

This course will particularly appeal to you if you:

  • Enjoy being creative but perhaps are not great at drawing.

  • Experimenting with different materials and media

  • Enjoy independent learning

  • If you have a ‘critical eye’ and want to develop your skills

  • Want to study a course that is practical and involves making things

SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS

This course is suitable for students of all ability levels. Students with aspirations of Grade 7 and above can expect to move onto A Level / BTEC courses at the MET, BHASVIC, Chichester College for example.

Students aiming for Grade 3 and higher will be well supported with one to one intervention and support.

Course DEscription

Students will:

  • learn to develop their ideas by investigating Photographers & Artists from other cultures so they can demonstrate analytical and cultural understanding.

  • refine their ideas through experimenting and selecting appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes including photography.

  • record ideas, objects and images which fit into themed projects.

  • present a personal, informed and meaningful set of sketchpads demonstrating your critical understanding, and make connections between their work and the work of others.

Course Content

Year 10 Unit 1: Portfolio of work. Usually two to three projects. The first is always Introduction to Image manipulation. Then the following projects are offered on a rotation; Natural forms, Identity and Miniature Worlds.

Year 11 Unit 2: Students respond to their chosen starting point from an externally set assignment paper relating to their subject title, evidencing coverage of all four assessment objectives.

Assessment

Unit 1: Portfolio of work / Coursework - 60% of total mark

Students must produce a portfolio of work consisting of at least two extended projects which demonstrate an ability to sustain work from initial starting points or project briefs to the realisation of intentions / final piece, including evidence of research, development of ideas and meaningful links with critical / contextual sources. The portfolio must represent at least 40 hours of supervised working time by your teacher.

Unit 2: Externally set task / Exam (10 hours) - 40% of total mark

This is a terminal exam in which candidates will be required to produce a personal response from one starting point within externally set paper. During the preparatory period, students are expected to produce research, preparatory and developmental work covering the four assessment objectives. Candidates work during this period should be carried out under informal supervision. This will culminate in a 10 hour exam in which they will make their final piece.

As part of the GCSE specification there is an emphasis on literacy in Units 1 & 2. Written forms of communication, including all annotation, spelling and grammar will be assessed. This now forms an essential part of the course and will be marked alongside visual work.

FURTHER EDUCATION AND CAREER PATHWAYS

The course allows students to progress onto A-level Art or photography as well as creative BTEC courses in: Photography, Fine Art, Fashion, Textiles, Media Studies, Film Studies, Graphic Design and other creative media courses.

With a view to careers in the following fields:

Advertising photographer, Fashion photographer, Photo journalist, Portrait photographer, Wedding photographer, Animator, Digital 3D Modeller, iPhone/ App designer, Television/film director, Camera Operator, Special effects designer, Video game designer.