The Visual Arts course exposes students to artistic creations that can be appreciated by sight, from painting and drawing to photography and sculpture, challenging their own creative and cultural thinking on the way.
The course takes students on a journey through traditional forms of visual art to contemporary and new forms, taking in art with a wider social resonance, spiritual significance or that which is primarily decorative and personal.
Both the creation and appreciation of art are taught, with students understanding a range of art making methods and growing in confidence in their evaluation and understanding of the context, conventions and development of pieces of visual art. Students will experiment themselves with different methods creating a journal of their art and reflections, from which assessed pieces can be selected. Visual arts teachers carefully curate learning experiences for the students, directing their study to make them informed and proficient visual artists who enjoy art and its dynamic and changing nature.
The course is designed for students who want to go on to further study of visual arts in higher education as well as for those who are seeking lifelong enrichment through visual arts. Comparing the work of different artists and examining the process of making art are the two main assessments that give students the opportunity to explore and emulate different visual art styles. Students will create visual art influenced by context across a range of media, honing their use of elements like colour, shape, form, space and texture. Ultimately this will contribute to the internally assessed exhibition all students undertake to showcase their work and unpick the influences upon it.
It is worth noting that it is sometimes possible for students to opt to study an additional sciences, individuals and societies, or languages course, instead of a course in the arts.
