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Art & Design Edexcel 1FAO
Art & Design Edexcel 1FAO
Subject overview
Subject overview
What is GCSE Art & Design?
The GCSE Art Programme at St Julian’s builds upon the skills, themes and techniques that have been learnt during KS2 & KS3. It places practical investigation and creative endeavour at the centre of the course. At St Julian’s we offer the Edexcel GCSE ART & DESIGN: Fine Art. (syllabus 2016 - first examined in 2018)
"Fine Art may be defined as work which is produced as an outcome of student’s personal experiences, rather than that which is created exclusively for a practical function or that which is the outcome of a tightly prescribed brief.” Edexcel Limited 2008
Why study GCSE Art & Design ?
If you have enjoyed your Art lessons this year and get pleasure from making things, drawing, painting and sculpture, then you should definitely consider continuing with Art & Design in Years 10 and 11.
In order to succeed at GCSE you will need to be imaginative, self-motivated, observant, and keen to experiment in the media and techniques of different Art disciplines. As you will visit museums and Art exhibitions, you will also need to enjoy learning about the work of other artists, designers and crafts people from around the world. You should be prepared for Art and Design to be time consuming. However, working in a rich and stimulating studio environment is a wonderfully satisfying personal experience and often balances the type of work done in other subjects.
In addition to providing creative knowledge and skills GCSE Art and Design develops transferable skills – students will learn to:
● Apply a creative approach to problem solving ;
● Consider and develop original ideas from initiation to realisation;
● Analyse critically their own work and the work of others;
● Express individual thoughts and choices confidently;
● Take risks, experiment and learn from mistakes.
Further Study in the IB
The GCSE Art Course directly links to the skills and knowledge required for the IB Visual Arts Course. Therefore we highly recommend taking the GCSE course in order to enter onto the IB Arts Course. Whilst Students can enter the IB Visual Art Course without the GCSE Art qualification it is not ideal. Wherever possible we urge students wishing to take IB Visual Arts to firstly take the GCSE course in order to build skills, knowledge and gauge their engagement with the subject.
Subject aims / objectives
Subject aims / objectives
This Art & Design Course is an Edexcel qualification and follows the Fine Art Endorsement. Over the two years you will have the opportunity to work in a variety of media and disciplines; this includes drawing and painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography and assemblage. You will work through projects and topics, researching artists, exploring media and processes in order to develop personal responses to the themes. This creative process is recorded in your sketchbook and becomes a crucial part of your assessment. The examiner and moderator sees both your sketchbook and the final pieces when your work is finally assessed.
The course is divided into two Units: Coursework completed in Year 10 and 11 and a final practical Exam sat at the end of Year 11.
Unit 1: Personal Portfolio (60%) - Students are expected to produce a body of work as coursework. This is produced over the two years, through a series of teacher initiated projects. All the work that is produced in class and for homework over Year 10 & Year 11 is potentially going to be used for the Portfolio. In addition to the scheduled timetabled hours, students will also complete a trial exam project, so that they can gain experience of planning and completing work under controlled assessment. The strongest work across the two years is selected for the Portfolio. During this course, students are required to produce work in at least two disciplines. Work submitted can be based on one theme or a number of themes and should make up around 45 hours worth of work.
Unit 2: Externally Set assignment (40%) - At the end of the 2 year course there is a final project which is set as an exam. The theme of the exam is chosen by Edexcel and is given as an ‘exam paper’ in advance of the timed test. There is 10 hours set aside for the making of the final piece. The time prior to the exam is spent preparing, researching other artists, exploring materials and ultimately developing an idea for the final piece.
The making of the final piece is completed in a 10 hour exam and is usually broken up into manageable slots over a two day period.
Programme of study
Programme of study
GCSE Art and Design Curriculum & Programme of Study.docx.pdfSyllabus
Syllabus
Edexel GCSE Art and Design Specification.pdfAssessment
Assessment
You are marked at the end of the course by your Art teachers (Edexcel refer to this as teacher examiners). Together, they look at all the work that you have submitted. They use the Edexcel assessment objectives and mark sheets to ensure that they are marking fairly and in line with the GCSE standard. Your work is then put up as an exhibition for a visiting moderator to see. The external moderation verifies your teachers marks and ensures that the marks are in line with the National standard. There are 4 assessment objectives and all four objectives are each worth 25% of the final marks.
Develop ideas through investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and cultural understanding.
Refine ideas through experimenting and selecting appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes
Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to the themes
Present a personal, informed and meaningful response demonstrating analytical and critical understanding, realising intentions and, where appropriate, making connections between the research and the final outcome.
Throughout the course internal assessment (formative marking) is taking place to support students learning. More can be learnt about this in the Department’s assessment policy. Prior to final assessment all students have to sign an Exam Board Authentication form declaring that their GCSE coursework is all their own work.
Career opportunities
Career opportunities
You might choose GCSE Art and Design just because you enjoy the subject. There are some career paths and jobs, however, that recognise creativity as either a requirement or a preference. Have you ever thought about a career in the following:
Architecture
Industrial Design
Interior Design
Product Design
Textile
Fashion
Media
Photography
Graphics
PR & Marketing
Museum and Gallery organisation
Art restoration and history
Primary School teaching
More information - links and resources
More information - links and resources
1. GCSE Handbook PDF.pdfTo support Students in their studies the Art Department provides a series of support booklets, including a Students GCSE Handbook, Critical Analsysis booklets and How to use writing to support Art learning.
We also ensure that all classes have a Google Classroom, where homeworks, resources and information is regualarly updatd for the students and assignments may be set.
There are also other sites that we refer to and use including:
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