Art, Design & Technology
Studying Art and Design offers students the chance to visually engage and appreciate the world around them. All students at Fort Pitt have the opportunity to try a number of disciplines within this field during Key Stage 3, with the opportunity to study them at a more specialised standard as they move into the higher Key Stages. Our department has strong links with higher and further education institutions in this field, and an excellent record for getting our students into some of the most respected universities in the country.
Enrichment
Art Club runs every week and is organised and run by 6th form students of the Department. This weekly session allows students to try techniques and materials that they may not have yet tried in their lessons, and offers them an opportunity to be creative outside of curriculum based learning. Participants work on projects for fun, sometimes with seasonal themes or outcomes. We also use this club to encourage students to enter into nationally run competitions wherever possible.
trips and events
We offer a wide variety of different trips to give students the opportunity to enrich and extend their learning about Art and Design outside of the classroom. In recent years we have been able to offer regular trips to London galleries, such as the Tate Modern, Tate Britain and the Saatchi Gallery which help to raise the aspirations of our students. We also have regular visits to galleries outside of London such as the Turner Contemporary in Margate. Our trip schedule works around locally and nationally organised events too, visiting regular events such as London Fashion Week, while taking advantage of opportunities for ‘pop-up’ gallery spaces and events organised at local universities and Art colleges too.
Subject Leader: Miss Melhuish (vmelhuish@fortpitt.medway.sch.uk)
Curriculum Content
Key Stage 3
All students get the opportunity to study a variety of different disciplines as part of their Art and Design lessons, working on a termly rotation between Fine Art, 3D Studies and Textiles. Drawing is an important component of everything we do and we start at the beginning of Year 7 with a series of lessons to build the girls’ confidence in the basic skills of mark-making and recording from observation. Over Key Stage 3 students have the opportunity to try out a variety of drawing, painting, printing and sewing processes to make a different outcome each term.
Year 7
Students in Year 7 follow a rotation of projects organised around a theme which explores specific cultural themes, for example ‘Africa’ or ‘Japan’.
- 3D skills based unit
- Textiles unit
- Colour and painting unit
Year 8
In Year 8 work is divided into projects that specialise in each of the subject disciplines on offer at GCSE level.
- Fine Art
- Graphics
- Textiles
Key Stage 4 – Art and Design
Exam board: (AQA)
Unit 1: Portfolio of Work (Controlled Assessment) 60 per cent of the total grade, which consists of a minimum of two projects, but usually three to four are submitted.
Unit 2: Externally Set Task 40 per cent.
Work is organised in thematic projects from the beginning of the course, with one main theme being tackled each year in most cases. All work is regularly reviewed and projects may be added to and improved at all stages of the course before final submission for assessment at the end of the course. Students receive 5 hours of lessons every fortnight and are expected to match hours in lessons with home learning. Each year an exam project is set to familiarize students with what to expect in the final Externally Set Task.
All project work is built around the following assessment objectives:
- Developing ideas through researching artwork by other artists, relevant to the project theme and analysing their work.
- Refining ideas and practical work through experimenting with a range of media and processes to develop personal skills.
- Recording ideas and imagery through drawing and other means such as photography from observation and first-hand experience.
- Creating an outcome which demonstrates independent decision making, and links to earlier research and contextual references on artists and designers.
At Fort Pitt we offer students the choice to specialize in one of the following Art and Design disciplines, Fine Art, Graphical Communication or Textiles Design.
FINE ART
Year 9
- Developing a creative vocabulary through exploration of the visual elements
- Pattern, Texture and Colour in Nature
Year 10
- Natural Forms Sculpture
- Portraits
Year 11
- Mock – Externally Set Assignment
- Externally Set Assignment
- Reviewing and improving all coursework projects ready for final portfolio assessment
GRAPHICAL COMMUNICATION
Year 9
- Designing packaging and publicity material for a retail product
- Designing a set of promotional materials for the annual school production
Year 10
- Designing promotional material for an artist
- Project to design publicity materials for a local attraction
Year 11
- Mock – Externally Set Assignment
- Externally Set Assignment
- Reviewing and improving all coursework projects ready for final portfolio assessment
TEXTILE DESIGN
Year 9
- Visual elements introductory project – skills and workshop based
- Millinery project
Year 10
- Natural forms project
- Mock-Externally Set Assignment paper unit
Year 11
- Mock – Externally Set Assignment
- Externally Set Assignment
- Reviewing and improving all coursework projects ready for final portfolio assessment
Key Stage 5 – Art and Design
Exam board: Edexcel
At Fort Pitt we offer students who have studied GCSE Art and Design to progress up to A Level in Fine Art, Graphical Communication and Textile Design. Students receive 7 hours of lessons every fortnight and are expected to match that amount with independent learning too. At the end of each year students complete a ten hour examination.
Students of GCE courses in Art and Design are encouraged to develop:
- intellectual, imaginative, creative and intuitive powers
- investigative, analytical, experimental, practical, technical and expressive skills, aesthetic understanding and critical judgment
- independence of mind in relation to developing their own ideas, refining their own intentions and personal outcomes
- an interest in, enthusiasm for, and enjoyment of art, craft and design
- experience of working with a broad range of media, including traditional and new media technologies
- an understanding of the interrelationships between art, craft and design processes and an awareness of the contexts in which they operate
Each of the disciplines offered within the Art and Design GCE courses follow a similar format over the two year course.
Year 12
- Portfolio building project
- Personal Study
Year 13
- Personal Study
- Externally Set Assignment
