National 4/5 Art

We live in a very visual world - TV, films and the Internet are a big part of our lives. Studying Art and Design helps you to understand and appreciate this world.

Art and Design features in many aspects of our everyday lives, from the advertising posters we see on our streets to the special effects we see in films. Almost everything we see or touch has been designed to be visually attractive including mobile phones, clothes, cars, buildings and websites.

The skills that you develop in Art and Design are useful in many different careers, such as architecture: interior design, fashion and textiles, graphics, web design, photography etc. Art & Design is a challenging, creative and enjoyable subject which provides breadth of experience to a pupil’s timetable. S4  Art & Design develops skills which have been introduced in previous years and allows a more in-depth study of both Expressive art and Design. Both these disciplines are backed up with research and analysis into recognised artists and designers' work. Most students will be expected to achieve either National 4 or National 5 course passes but other, additional freestanding units at level 5 or 6 will be incorporated, maximising the qualifications that pupils can achieve.

There are two halves to the course: Expressive and Design.

Expressive

The Expressive element is what we traditionally think of when we talk about the subject. This includes drawing, painting, sculpture etc.

In this unit you will:

●       develop an understanding of the factors that influence and inspire artists’ work

●       consider how artists use art materials, techniques and/or technology in your work

●       research and develop your personal thoughts and ideas in 2D and/or 3D formats in response to given stimuli

●       produce observational drawings and studies and develop your expressive ideas and compositions

●       experiment with and use art materials, techniques and/or technology in creative and expressive ways

Design

Design is the practical application of art. Products are created in response to a brief

In this unit you will:

●       plan, research and develop creative design ideas in response to a given brief

●       develop your creativity and problem-solving skills as you consider the design opportunities, issues and constraints of the brief

●       develop your understanding of designers’ working practices and the factors that inspire and influence your work

●       experiment with and develop media handling skills when producing their design ideas in 2D and/or 3D formats.

Unit assessments are completed in school to meet SQA course requirements and are subject to quality assurance by the SQA. Each student will produce through practical activities one piece of expressive and one piece of design work. The practical activity will assess learner’s skills in selecting, developing, producing and evaluating their work.

N5 EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT

After successfully passing both Expressive and Design units the final portfolios are assessed externally by the SQA. The folios are worth 80% of the final mark available and the remaining 20% is for the written exam.  This written exam is a question paper lasting 1 hour 30 minutes.

Completion of this course will provide you with skills which will allow you to move on to study Art & Design at levels 5, 6 & 7 (National 5 - Advanced Higher), and allows you to pursue a variety of Expressive and Design possibilities and careers.

Achieving at least level 5 in Art & Design is the qualification to equip you to be able to study Higher Photography later in your school career.