GCSE Art & Design

What will I study?

During a GCSE Art & Design module, you can expect to develop skills in drawing, painting, sculpting, printmaking, photography, installation and other lens or light-based media and mixed media art as well as developing visual and tactile elements of art through experimentation and exploration. Students will investigate how sources and themes relate to individual, social, historical, environmental, cultural, ethical and/or issues based contexts. A focus on drawing, painting, printing, 3D work is developed initially through the use of fine art techniques and processes, appropriate to students’ personal intentions, for example, mark-making, monoprint, collagraph and block printing, digital working methods, Students will also use media and materials, as appropriate to their personal intentions, such as charcoal, pastels, pen and ink, crayons and pencil, watercolour, gouache, acrylic and oil paints, found materials, clay, wood and metal, digital imagery etc. Students will study other artists' work, linking this to their own, in order to develop their own ideas. They are expected to develop their work, experiment with new processes and ideas and refine this to a final piece for each project. The work is completed both in and out of a sketchbook depending upon its nature.

How will I be assessed?

Assessment will take place in two parts:

• Component 1 - 60% Coursework element to be completed in three Units of Work over the course of Year 10 and Year 11.

• Component 2 - 40% - Exam Project set in January of Year 11. An externally set theme from which students create their own project in response to the theme, with the final piece being created under exam conditions over 2 days and in 10 hours.

What skills will I be tested on?

There are 4 assessment objectives that are used to mark both the coursework and the exam project, relating to the following.

• Observing and recording ideas in relation to a theme. (AO1)

• Studying other artists' work and using their work to develop and inspire your own ideas – researching other artist’s work in-depth, commenting upon their work and using this to influence the direction of your own work. (AO2)

• Experimenting with materials and processes, and refining ideas. Experimenting with ways of working and different media appropriate to the theme or idea, refining ideas by trying them out in a variety of ways in order to come to a great final piece idea. (AO3)

• Creating a personal response - Creating a successful final piece. (AO4)

Specification

You can look at the specification to understand more about this course.

• GCSE Art and Design