This video covers three courses including; Art, Craft & Design, Graphic Communication and Photography.

Art, Craft and Design GCSE

What is our curriculum intent?

Vibrant and dynamic, this specification gives our teachers the freedom to teach GCSE Art in ways that inspire and bring out the best in all our students, whilst equipping them with the skills to continue the subject with confidence at AS, A-level and beyond.

How do we implement our curriculum?

The course provides an opportunity for students to experience a 'little of everything', including design, drawing, graphics, making artefacts and elements of ICT design. In lessons students are taught to maximise the potential of their established skills as well as developing a whole new range of techniques and processes through workshop style sessions.

With two units, comprising of a ‘portfolio’ selected from the course of study and an ‘externally set assignment’, the specification provides your sons and daughters with a range of creative, exciting and stimulating opportunities to develop and explore their personal interests in art and design.

Skills, knowledge and understanding

Students must explore and create work associated with areas of study from at least two titles listed below,

• Fine art: for example drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, lens-/light-based media, photography and the moving image, printmaking, mixed media and land art.
• Graphic communication: for example communication graphics, design for print, advertising and branding, illustration, package design, typography, interactive design, (including web, app and game), multi-media, motion graphics, signage and exhibition graphics.
• Three-dimensional design: for example architectural design, sculpture, ceramics, product design, jewellery and body adornment, interior design, environmental/landscape/garden design, exhibition design, three-dimensional digital design and designs for theatre, film and television.
• Photography: for example portraiture, location photography, studio photography, experimental imagery, installation, documentary photography, photo-journalism, moving image: film, video and animation, fashion photography.

Unit 1: Portfolio of Work

The portfolio of work for the Art and Design endorsement will explore work associated with at least two of the following areas of study: Fine Art, Graphic Communication, Three-dimensional design and Photography.

Portfolio component 1: must show evidence of working in areas of study drawn from two or more of the titles taking into account the distinguishing characteristics of art, craft and design.

Portfolio component 2: must show evidence of areas of study drawn from one or more of the titles.

The areas of study selected for Component 1 can be the same as, or different from, those selected for Component 2. Students must explore, through a range of two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional processes and media, practical application of skills and relevant critical and contextual sources such as the work of contemporary artists, craftspeople and designers and the different purposes, intentions and functions of art, craft and design as appropriate to their own work.

The portfolio must show a sustained project evidencing the journey from initial engagement to the realisation of intentions and a selection of further work undertaken during the student’s course of study.

Each student must select and present a portfolio representative of their course of study. The portfolio must include both:

1. A sustained project developed in response to a subject, theme, task or brief evidencing the journey from initial engagement with an idea(s) to the realisation of intentions. This will give students the opportunity to demonstrate, through an extended creative response, their ability to draw together different areas of knowledge, skills and/or understanding from across their course of study.
2. A selection of further work resulting from activities such as trials and experiments; skills-based workshops; mini and/or foundation projects; responses to gallery, museum or site visits; work placements; independent study and evidence of the student’s specific role in any group work undertaken.

The work submitted for this component will be marked as a whole. Students should carefully select, organise and present their portfolio and must ensure that it provides evidence of meeting all four assessment objectives. They must identify and acknowledge sources which are not their own and provide evidence of drawing activity and written annotation

Unit 2: externally set task non-exam assessment (NEA)

Students are required to elicit a personal response from one starting point or project brief from the AQA Art and Design paper. They are expected to develop their own work informed by their preparatory studies, exploration and experimentation of media and development of their ideas.

Papers will be issued from 2nd January in the year of examination to give students unlimited preparation time. However, their final responses will be completed in 10 hours of supervised time. Students must not undertake any further preparatory studies once the first period of supervised time starts.

How can students be supported through learning at home?

Homework is an intrinsic part of the course and regarded as an element of the coursework for the portfolio unit. Students will need to spend weekly homework time working in their sketchbook. Often students will be engaged upon observational drawing, at other times it will be design and colour work, research or producing an artefact.

Extra study support is available weekly in designated art rooms as an integral element of the Art X-tra programme. The Art team facilitate opportunities for students to use the materials, facilities and gain support from their teachers in order to enhance, develop or complete coursework tasks.

How do we measure the impact of the course?

Assessment takes place throughout the course for both formative and summative purposes, in line with the AQA specification assessment objectives. Key pieces of work are assessed and grades/targets for improvement recorded on the Art teams’ progress and assessment sheet. A mid-term assessment takes place throughout each coursework project enabling teachers and students to analyse progress against agreed GCSE targets.

Assessment has two strands

Unit 1: Portfolio of work (96 marks) 60% of final mark
Unit 2: Externally set task NEA (96 marks) 40% of final mark

Marked by the centre and moderated by AQA.

Assessment Objectives

Assessment objectives (AO’s) are set by Ofqual and are the same across all GCSE Art and Design specifications and all exam boards. The portfolio and externally set NEA will measure how students have achieved the following assessment objectives.

• AO1: Develop ideas through investigations, demonstrating critical understanding of sources.
• AO2: Refine work by exploring ideas, selecting and experimenting with appropriate media, materials, techniques and processes.
• AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions as work progresses.
• AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language.