Art and Design
In Art and Design, we aim to create a vibrant and high achieving learning environment which encourages and supports students in developing their creative ideas and skills across the Visual Arts including Art and Design, Art Textiles and Photography. The learning ethos encourages students to become independent, creative problem solvers who can connect ideas across the whole school curriculum, in order to enhance their creative capacity.
Our teachers are subject experts across a wide range of disciplines including Fine Art, Sculpture, Photography, Fashion, Textiles and Graphic Design, and this enables students to benefit from their expertise and experience.
Having broad and diverse knowledge and understanding is extremely important for creativity and therefore students are given a wide variety of opportunities to engage in beyond the curriculum. The extra-curricular opportunities are developed and adapted each year and include lunchtime clubs; workshops in Life Drawing and Sculptural Ceramics; Creative Textiles masterclasses, and workshops in Fashion Photography Styling and Fashion Illustration. We also offer wide range of study visits to national and international exhibitions including the Tate Modern, Saatchi Gallery, Pompidou Centre and residential trips to Flatford Mill, the location of Constable’s Hay Wain. In addition to these opportunities, students are also encouraged to engage in the Arts Award programme in conjunction with Arts Council England, and to enter some of the many creative competitions such as the John Downton Award and Royal Academy Student Exhibition.
The Art and Design facilities at Invicta are extensive. We are extremely lucky to have state-of-the-art studio facilities, as well as a specialist Creative Arts IT suite, dark room and photographic studio. In addition to this we also have cutting edge Art Textiles rooms with industry grade equipment such as sublimation printing and CAD embroidery.
The artistic achievements of students are celebrated in all corners of the school environment through the display of student artwork. We hold an annual summer exhibition and private view event for students to share their creative accomplishments with family and friends, and also host an online exhibition: https://www.artsteps.com/view/60e6c78c9fb08f01a9eb7013
Key Stage 3
In Key Stage 3 students' eyes are opened to the world of Art, their thoughts and ideas of what Art can be, will be challenged and broadened. Students will research a range of artists from the historic, who have paved the way for contemporary artists who are challenging current issues. Students will learn about how female artists from diverse backgrounds have broken through the male dominated art movements.
During Year 7 and 8 students have the opportunity to explore a range of materials and techniques such as:
- Observational drawing
- Tonal description
- Colour Theory
- Mark making
- Print making
- Colour mixing
- Photography
- Acrylic
- Written analysis
- Sculpture
Year 7
Project 1 – Ways of Seeing
- Drawing – continuous line
- Digital Sketchbook/ Written analysis
- Frottage
- Wax resist & watercolour
- Bubble printing/ layering
- Thread/ stitch drawing
- Mono printing
- Chine Colle
- Image manipulation
- Collagraph outcome
- Stencil/ positive & negative image
- Personal response combining techniques
Project 2 – Who am I?
- Historical context – history of portraiture
- Written analysis
- Human anatomy – facial proportions
- Observational drawing -linear, tone, texture
- Colour theory
- Photography and image manipulation
- Collage image making
Year 8
Project 1 – Tides of Change
- Eco Art research
- Wax resist & watercolour study
- Mark making tools
- Paper sculpture
- Continuous wire drawing
- Photoshoot & shadow drawing
- 3D mark making and paper manipulation
- Mini sea life outcome
- Sealife installation
Project 2 – Surrealism: Techniques
- Surrealist concepts and themes research
- Artist transcription
- Imaginative and observational drawing
- Landscape and hybrid-creature compositions
- Frottage, collage, photomontage, grattage and mixed media
- Cut, tear and blend imagery; record development
- Final-piece planning
- Expressive mark-making and colour
- Formal elements: colour, line, texture, surface, tone and pattern
- ICT image manipulation
- Mixed-media Surrealist final piece (Assessment 4)
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable, students receive:
- 2 hours of guided classroom learning
- 20 minutes of guided independent homework (Year 7)
- 30 minutes of guided independent homework (Year 8)
Year 9 - Foundation Year
In Year 9, students explore a range of image making techniques through the lens of feminism and diversity in Art and Design. Students start to build up a repertoire of practical skills and techniques which they will continue to revisit throughout subsequent years. Opportunities are developed for students to gain experience of compiling a digital sketchbook and of following a line of enquiry. Learning is workshop based and enables students to discover how one idea leads to another in often playful and surprising ways.
The Foundation Year course incorporates the following and more
- Experimental drawing practices
- Mark making and tonal description methods
- Colour theory and colour mixing
- Painting methods and techniques
- Sculpture and installation
- Photography
- Digital image manipulation - Photoshop
- Print making techniques
- Artist research and written analysis
- Conceptual development
Project 1 – Beginnings and Endings
- Social themes, representation and lived experience
- Welcome to Invicta / studio routines
- Mind map and knowledge organiser
- Artist research and analysis
- Primary and secondary sources
- Charcoal; ink and bleach; monoprint
- Paint; photography; digital collage
- Initial ideas and development
- Artist synthesis
- Four-week final piece
- Evaluation
Project 2 – Belonging
- Hand-made sketchbook
- Research personally relevant artists
- Formal elements to communicate ideas
- Composition, proportion and perspective
- Workshops: bookmaking, mixed-media drawing, photography, plaster casting and clay
- Knowledge, skills and technique development
- Inventiveness, risk-taking and personal connections
- Working from life
- Develop Term 3–4 learning
- Ambitious final outcome in Terms 5–6
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable students receive:
- 5 hours of guided classroom learning
- 2 hours of guided independent homework
Key Stage 4
In Year 10 students start their GCSE Art and Design course, during this time students can utilise the skills that they have developed during their foundation year. In Key Stage 4 students learn how to develop their own concepts and independence. Students will have the opportunity to develop their own creative practice in line with their own interests and strengths. Regular one-to-one tutorials will be carried out with teachers to ensure students are supported and are able to make progress. Students have a range of opportunities to participate in workshops to further develop their skills using a variety of materials. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in gallery visits to enhance their knowledge of artists work and to inform their own practice.
Throughout the GCSE Art and Design course, students build confidence in their own creative independence and gradually build up a body of work exploring themes and techniques in which they feel most passionate. Students will continue to expand their knowledge and skills using a variety of equipment and techniques through a series of mini workshops in response to a range of artists. Students are encouraged to develop their ability to analyse and reflect on their work to enable deeper conceptual thinking which they will evidence within their digital sketchbooks.
Exam board/Qualification:
AQA GCSE Art and Design
- 2 units. Coursework 60%. Exam project 40%.
- Controlled assessment to be completed at the end of Year 11. 10 hours.
The GCSE course incorporates the following and more:
- Conceptual development - developing a creative line of enquiry
- Effective artist research and written analysis
- Experimental drawing practices (including observational studies)
- Mark making and tonal description methods
- Colour theory and colour mixing
- Painting methods and techniques
- Print making techniques
- Sculpture and installation
- Digital photography
- Digital image manipulation - Photoshop
- Realising creative intentions and presenting a personal response
Year 10
Project 1 – Playbook
- Historical context – Artist research
- Conceptual development
- Written analysis
- Recording skills
- Technical skills (print development, decorative textile techniques)
- Composition
- Refinement through experimentation
- Presenting personal outcome
Project 2 – Sustained Coursework Project
- Artist research
- Written analysis
- Technical skills
- Drawing for different purposes
- Refinement & experimentation
Year 11
Project 1 – Sustained Coursework Project
- Continuation of coursework project
- Further development of line of enquiry
- Refinement through experimentation
- Developing and presenting personal outcome
Project 2 – Externally Set Assignment
- Externally Set Assignment set by AQA
- Preparation period from 1 Jan until final 10 hr examination
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable, students receive:
- 5 hours of guided classroom learning
- 2 hours of guided independent homework
Enrichment and Extra Curricular
Further reading for GCSE:
- Nelson Thornes GCSE Art & Design Handbook
Key Stage 5
The Art and Design A-Level starts Year 12 with a range of experimental drawing techniques and quickly evolves into a unique and personal enquiry that each individual student builds, evolves and directs for themselves. The course introduces new methods and techniques through a range of skills workshops which allows students to explore and apply them in their own way. Teaching staff work closely with students to introduce and demonstrate ideas and techniques on a one-to-one or small group basis so that the learning experience is truly personalised.
By Year 13, students are able to work with complete independence, making their own judgements about how to develop their work. The spacious studio areas support working at scale and ambitious installation builds, and students are also encouraged to utilise the specialist facilities in the other Visual Arts disciplines (Photography, Art Textiles and Design Technology) areas to assist cross-fertilisation of ideas and further extend their enquiries.
Exam board/Qualification: AQA A Level Art and Design
- 2 units. Personal Investigation 60%. Externally Set Assignment 40%.
- Controlled assessment to be completed at the end of Year 13. 15 hrs.
The A-Level course features aspects of the following areas:
- Conceptual development - developing a creative line of enquiry
- Effective artist research and written analysis
- Experimental drawing practices (including observational studies, abstract image-making practices and automatic drawing)
- Mark making and tonal description methods
- Colour theory and impact of colour
- Painting methods and techniques
- Exploratory print making techniques
- Life drawing and anatomy
- Sculpture and installation
- Digital photography methods
- Digital image manipulation - Photoshop
- Projection and experimentation with light
- Experimental dark room approaches to image-making
- Realising creative intentions and presenting a personal response
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable, students receive:
- 8 hours of guided classroom learning
- 10 hours of guided independent homework
Enrichment and Extra Curricular
Further reading for A-Level:
- Nelson Thornes GCE Art & Design Handbook
Enrichment and Extra Curricular
To Read
- Creative Review https://www.creativereview.co.uk/
- Design Week https://www.designweek.co.uk/
- Tate – In the Studio https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern/display/in-the-studio
- Tate Modern – Materials and Objects https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern/display/materials-and-objects
- Pattern Magic by Tomoko Nakamichi Lawrence King Publishing 2005
- Layered Cloth: The Art of Fabric Manipulation by Ann Small Search Press 2020
- Fabric Manipulation by Ruth Singer F&W Media 2013
To Watch
- Why Art Education is important https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKjkx6PzajE
- Creativity test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH2ll5bwpKw
- What’s the Purpose of a Photograph?
- https://www.ted.com/talks/yip_michaela_what_s_the_purpose_of_a_photograph
- David Hockney on iPad painting and finding joy in Spring:
- https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/article-david-hockney-ipad-painting-during-lockdown
- Young people’s guide to self-portraiture: https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/self/home/
To Listen
- Design Matters https://www.designmattersmedia.com/designmatters
- Creative Pep Talk http://www.creativepeptalk.com/
- Pop Fashion https://www.popfashionpodcast.com/
- Only Artists – https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b08ltbhl
- Bow Down: Women in Art - https://frieze.libsyn.com
- Talk Art - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talk-art/id1439567112
To Research
- Where are the women artists? https://www.wherearethewomenartists.com/
- Museum of Modern Art https://www.moma.org/
- TED Discover Art https://www.ted.com/topics/art
- TED Discover Photography https://www.ted.com/topics/photography
- Art Institute https://www.artinstitutes.edu/about/blog/must-listen-podcasts-for-creative-arts-students
- A Year in Black Art https://www.culturetype.com/category/year-in-black-art/
To Visit
- Tate Modern
- Tate Britain
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Saatchi Gallery
Careers
We have a wealth of information on our Careers page - Please click here to visit.
