Head of Department: Mrs Coyle
The Art department has been refurbished into a very vibrant and stimulating teaching environment. It is situated in a suite of purpose-built rooms on the ground floor. There are two general art classrooms, a ceramic studio, PC suite, gallery/workshop area, 6th form studio/teaching room, a department office and several large store rooms.
There are at present two full-time and one part-time member of staff in the department and we also have the support of two part-time technicians.
The department is extremely successful and continues to achieve results well beyond the national expectations for Art.
Students at Key Stage 3 are taught for one hour a week. All students are given the opportunity to experience a wide range of art activities which includes: Painting and Drawing, Printmaking, Textiles, Ceramics and Computer-aided design. Students are taught in mixed ability classes and programmes of study are designed to promote achievement and progress at all levels. The input of the class teacher in designing projects to meet the department programmes of study is highly valued. We work to maintain a creative approach to the delivery of the curriculum for art and encourage staff to share their successes and failures openly.
At Key Stage 4 students follow the Unendorsed GCSE Art syllabus from AQA which allows students to pursue a multi-disciplinary approach to their GCSE coursework. GCSE groups are taught for five hours over the two-week timetable. Students are extremely well motivated and keen to achieve and the subject enjoys a high status due to the achievements of our GCSE and A Level students.
At AS and A2 Level we are following the OCR Fine Art syllabus. Students attain very high standards in their work and there is a strong tradition for our A Level art students to continue with their studies in tertiary education.
The department has a traditional involvement in supporting the school's drama productions with set design and fabrication. We believe that it is important to promote students' achievements in art within the school by arranging high quality displays in hallways, offices and selected sites. Artwork is also taken out of school to be exhibited within the local community. We have an after school Art club for gifted and talented Key Stage 3 students who have worked on several commission pieces for local companies and businesses. We also take two PGCE students from Reading University each year and find this to be a positive and enriching experience for staff and students alike. It has been the department policy to take students out of school to visit art as often as possible. We arrange at least one visit per academic year for each year group. This offers students the opportunity to visit not only the top London Galleries and exhibitions but also buildings and institutions of specific interest to enrich the work they produce in school.
