Art and Photography

Director of Art - Mr Alan C Smith MA
In charge of Photography - Ms Tuppence Stevens-Lewis

The Art Department is located in the Shaw building, and offers one of the best facilities in the country.  Studio's are generously equipped and used for teaching all year groups, from juniors (year 6) to upper sixth (year 13).  The department specialises in Fine Art and Photography and those pupils specialising in Photography from year 9 explore Fine Art through the Medium of Photography.  Pupils are offered excellent working conditions and we offer a wide variety of options through our teaching programme.  These include: Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Graphics, Sculpture, Ceramics and Photography.  Students who opt for GCSE and AS / A2 courses follow the Edexcel endorsements in Art and Photography.  The department offers wide range of extra-curricular activities which meet weekly, these include Pottery, Video and specializations in Art practice.

Click on the images below to view a sample of the work produced for GCE and GCSE.

Tom Lilly desk  A - level Art

Oliver Hall  A-level Photography

 

 Thomas Corfield  GCSE Art  Sebastian Hardy  GCSE Photography

Aims:

  1. To develop qualities of observation, imagination, perception and awareness of visual relationships in the use of shape, line tone, colour, texture and form.
  2. To discover the potential of materials by exploitation and experiment through personal involvement.
  3. To develop in pupils a critical and visual interest in their social and cultural environment.
  4. To develop in pupils a self-disciplined, organised and flexible approach to their work, so as to enable them to work to a brief, and to become aware of their ideas independently.
  5. To develop in pupils the broadest possible concept of what art and photography can be, demanding as much intellectual involvement as possible, and to develop a rigorous creative thinking process that will harness and enable creativity to flourish.
Objectives:
 

Pupils will be expected to demonstrate and develop their experience in as many areas as possible within the two and three-dimensional disciplines. 

The department encourage able students to apply for Foundation Course places at Colleges of Art and University Departments offering a Visual Art based course. 
 
A large proportion of our teaching is centred around practical work, although we do insist on developing a rigorous and intellectual understanding of the subject, as all art is based on ideas and issues.  The department continually fosters discussion about the subject, and department staff provide talks on individual artists, stylistic conventions, movements and pertinent themes during the courses students pursue.  Field Visits focus attention on current exhibitions and localities of visual interest. The department runs an annual study visit abroad, these trips are open to 4th Year and above and in the past have included Amsterdam, Berlin and Barcelona.