'To draw, you must close your eyes and sing.'
-Pablo Picasso
Key Stage 3
What will students learn? (Overview)
Years 7 and 8
Art & Design is taught at KS3 for one hour a week, with opportunities to attend art club at lunchtimes or after school. Students are taught the skills and techniques needed to allow them to express their ideas and feelings; recording from observation is seen as an important part of the curriculum and is often the starting point to a project. The art department aims to inspire and challenge pupils.
Students are taught about how art and design shapes our history culturally and creatively learning about great artists and important movements.
Students will use a range of techniques and media, including painting, sculpture and mixed media.
The themes which students respond to are based on their own world and the world around them.
Students will learn to analyse and evaluate their own work, and that of others.
Examples of projects include:
Year 7: Wild tiles based on insects, Painting on British culture, Landscapes and mark making.
Year 8: 3D Architecture, Pop Art Interiors, Still life painting of everyday objects.
Projects are planned to cover cultures from around the world, movements in art - including traditional and contemporary artists.
Sketchbooks are used extensively for homework and class work. These are an important resource for the students and they are encouraged to develop them in a creative and expressive way, by including drawings, ideas, notes and research on artists.
Homework is set on regular basis throughout the two years.
How will they be assessed?
Students are assessed four times a year which is at the end of each project. They also have regular drawing tests.
Sketchbook work is checked and marked on a regular basis, which is generally every 2/3 weeks depending on the projects they are working on. Sketchbooks are also peer marked and self assessed.
How can parents support?
By checking the homework and targets sheet which are stuck into the students sketchbook.
