Visual Arts

We aim to inspire students to explore the creative process and achieve the highest standards in their individual artwork.

Our creative curriculum provides students with diverse opportunities to study current and past masters while learning core skills through a variety of media. We look to ensure the process of making artwork is all consuming and enjoyable, allowing our students to create unique work that they can feel truly proud of. Our Visual Arts team consists of highly experienced Art and Design teachers with specialisms that include drawing, painting, textiles, printing, ceramics and photography

Key Stage 3

At Key Stage 3, we offer a range of thematic projects that will help our students develop a variety of skills in traditional and new media. Our projects have been carefully designed to introduce students to a spectrum of artists and craftspeople in order to facilitate their understanding of art in its broadest context. Students will also develop artistic confidence and visual recording skills through structured and engaging lessons.

At the beginning of all creative work, students will be taught how to examine artifacts from across times and wider cultures to provide insight into the visual world around them. Each term, students will produce an in-depth project allowing them to work towards a personal piece of artwork in either 2D or 3D media.

Key Stage 4

GCSE Art and Design at Sandringham offers students the opportunity to select Fine Art, Photography or Textiles to expand their practical and conceptual skills. During the course, students develop artistic skills, creativity, imagination and independence while creating personal work in their chosen media. Particular emphasis is placed upon the acquisition of visual recording skills.

Art and Design Portfolio: For this unit, students will produce a portfolio of work showing their personal response to a starting point. Students will hand in a portfolio and final piece.

Art and Design set task: For this unit, Students will be given a selection of starting points to choose from and will produce a visual response during a practical exam. Students will produce preparatory studies to support their exam work.

The faculty follows Edexcel Art and Design Suite and more information about the course and subject specification can be found at http://qualifications.pearson.com/en/home.html

Key Stage 5

We offer A Level Art and Design in Fine Art, Photography and Textiles.

Our students are encouraged to work independently and grow into confident artists as they explore a variety of media and techniques. Our students’ work is highly personal, engaging and innovative. We enjoy celebrating their achievements in our annual summer exhibition. We provide opportunities for students to visit galleries to support their studies and exhibit their work in external exhibitions.

Practical Portfolio and Related Study: Students produce a major project that has personal significance. Students complete a related study of a minimum 1000 words.
Controlled Assignment: Students select one starting point from an early release question paper. Students complete a fifteen-hour practical exam to develop their ideas into a final outcome.

More information about the course and subject specification can be found at www.ocr.org.uk

How parents/carers can support learning.

We would encourage parents and carers to spend time reviewing student’s sketchbooks and artwork to celebrate their success. We would encourage trips to local museums and galleries such as St Albans Gallery or galleries in London such as The National Gallery. Holidays are opportunities for our artists to engage with artwork from the local area. A trip to Cornwall for example could provide an opportunity to explore the St Ives School which played a key role in the developments in British art from the 1940s to the 1960s. We are always happy to provide guidance so please do get in touch or reference our Super Curriculum for ideas.

Extra Curricular Activity

We provide regular opportunities throughout the academic year such as St Albans Legacy project, The Memory project or The Royal Academy Young Artists Award. We run weekly KS3 Art and Photography clubs. We run an annual residential trip for our young artists. We encourage our our students to participate in our Young Arts Leaders programme. We are a creative hub for UAL Future Creatives. We are delighted to be part of a highly innovative wider Arts team at Sandringham and continually seek to collaborate to provide cross-curricular opportunities for our students such as Arts Week and collaborative ELD days.

Useful Links

UAL Future Creatives: https://www.arts.ac.uk/study-at-ual/short-courses/future-creatives
The Saatchi Gallery: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/
The Hayward Gallery: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/hayward-gallery
The Barbican Centre: http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery
The Whitechapel Gallery: http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/
The National Gallery: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/
The National Portrait Gallery: http://www.npg.org.uk/
The Photographers Gallery: https://www.photo.net/
British Museum: http://www.britishmuseum.org/
The Imperial War Museum: http://www.iwm.org.uk/
The Wallace Collection: http://www.wallacecollection.org/
The Welcome Collection: http://www.wellcomecollection.org/
The Natural History Museum: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/
The White Cube, Hoxton: http://whitecube.com/
The White Cube, Bermondsey: http://whitecube.com/
The Serpentine Gallery: http://www.serpentinegallery.org/
The ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art): https://www.ica.art/
Dulwich Picture Gallery: http://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/default.aspx
The Science Museum: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
The Design Museum: http://designmuseum.org
The British Library: http://www.bl.uk/

Sandringham School | Everybody can be somebody

The Ridgeway, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 9NX

Telephone: 01727 799560
Absence Line: 01727 799564
Email: admin@sandringham.herts.sch.uk

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