Sixth Form Art emphasises the ability to draw well from life
, in order to realise complex and extraordinary ideas. Without well-developed skills in the formal elements fantastic ideas cannot come to fruition.
Students develop their knowledge and skills by creating a rich visual language. They will be expected to develop their recording abilities and demonstrate skillful use of the formal elements. Students will experiment with a wide range of techniques, learning how to transform and manipulate materials to reflect the different qualities of their observed forms and images. We encourage students to explore ideas, the world around them, and the corners of their minds.
Art at Tring follows a traditional path. Emphasis is placed on the
ability to draw well from life, in order to realise complex and extraordinary ideas. Students have the opportunity for learning outside the classroom. A Study Tour to Paris or another European city one year to visit the galleries, draw from their collections and gather visual resources to take back to the classroom and the following year a drawing tour to a coastal town in Britain in order to develop drawing skills and to work from unfamiliar landscapes all play a part in developing skills, experiences and ideas.
'Every child is an artist. The problem is to remain an artist once we grow up'.
Pablo Picasso
Exam Body & Specification | AQA | Fine Art | Code 7202 |
Minimum GCSE Grade Requirements | Grade 5 in Art |
Future Opportunities
An A level in Art is a prerequisite for any career in the Art and Design field. The usual route for anyone interested in this career path is to progress to a Foundation Course in Art and Design at one of the local colleges. Here, you will experience the different disciplines of art and design - graphic design, theatre design, fashion and textiles, printmaking, sculpture, illustration, computer graphics and animation as well as the more traditional fine art activities. Once a Foundation Course has been completed students move onto Art Degrees. Many of our students have gone on to high calibre universities and Art Colleges for both their Art Foundation Course and their Degree Course.
"Choosing Art is a great opportunity to be immersed in your creative side and to be able to get your hands dirty. It has allowed me to widen my mind more, to think in more depth about Art and to be able to look at a painting or a sculpture and have a greater understanding of it. Choosing Art allows you to express yourself more than any other subject. You can constantly create things which reflect your thoughts and opinions, and yourself, allowing you to develop yourself and understand more about creative Art. You are more immersed and focused in Art than any other subject.’" Scarlett, Year 12
Course Content & Assessment
Course Content
Unit 1 Personal Investigation (Coursework)
The Personal Investigation is intended to form a basis on which students develop their knowledge, skills and understanding in creating a rich visual language in the context of selected ideas. Ideas provide the starting point for Art and Design practice, form an integral part of the creative process and lie at the heart of assessment for Art A Level. This Unit incorporates two elements, practical work and a written personal study. Practical investigation and application forms the basis and foundation of this Unit. After a 6 week foundation project, in which students explore drawing, painting, print, textiles and sculpture, students will pursue their own creative and visual ideas in some of these chosen areas of art, craft and design.
Unit 2 Externally Set Assignment (ESA)
The unit comprises two major elements: preparatory work and a 15 hour timed piece. The preparatory studies will incorporate a portfolio of practical developmental work and annotation. Students work through ideas, processes, experiments and explorations for the timed test with guidance from the teaching staff, demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the skills, processes, media and materials learnt during Unit 1. Students will receive the title for the ESA in January of the second year and produce their final piece of work for the assignment in May during the 15 hour period of sustained study (the timed test).
Assessment
- A practical personal investigation | 60% of total marks.
- An externally set assignment (practical exam at the end of Year 13) | 40% of total marks.
ENRICHMENT AND EXTRA-CURRICULAR
Tring School Art Department has hosted a range of enrichment activities, with the local primary schools and with other secondary schools in Hertfordshire. We work closely with Tring Park Arts Society and have run projects in conjunction with them and Tring Natural History Museum. A Level work has been shown at The Mall Gallery in London as part of the National Students Art Exhibition, and we have also had work shown at the Burger King Head Office. Students from Tring Park Performing Arts School attended a ‘Film Camera and Darkroom’ training day with us recently.
Extended Learning Days are always busy for the Art Department and excellent opportunities for cross curricular work. Collaborative work with Drama and Music has been very successful in the past and we are developing close ties with Science.
Sixth Form Art students run the Art Club for KS3 students.
Art Department
| Subject Leader | Miss S Gomersall |
| Mr B Woolf | |
| Miss K Leigh | |
| Art Technician | Mrs E Clark |
