Introduction

The Art curriculum is planned around the features of the RGSHW cohort. It is an ambitious, rigorous and stimulating subject. Art uses creativity and hones practical skills to equip the students with the knowledge and ability to invent and create works of art, craft and design across all three key stages. Making art is a powerful tool; it can raise social consciousness, promote democracy and be a vehicle for change. It is therefore especially important that young, bright and enquiring minds have the opportunities to develop their cognitive skills through analysing artwork and eventually planning their own projects that challenge and engage.

We offer extracurricular opportunities such as trips in Year 9 to Harry Potter Studios, Year 8 Ceramic workshops, and an Art Lunchtime Club, to name a few. We are also launching Arts Award in 2020 supported by our practising Artist in Residence.

A Level

The A Level course is 60% coursework, 40% Exam. The coursework unit is a personal investigation. The boys take this opportunity to set themselves a question, whether it be personal, the impact of the wider world or related to their intended course in higher education. From January in Year 12 they start to try to resolve these high order and often challenging questions in a visual and written response. To equip the boys with the skills to do this, the boys start the year with a Foundation Course style of teaching. Throughout the course the boys build resilience, learn to think laterally, take risks, and produce high-quality art. They understand how Art makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth, and well-being of the nation, often choosing to follow this path into higher education.

Art and Design is an incredibly broad and exciting A Level which emulates the richness and variety of the Creative Industry through its openness and research-focused approach. The course encapsulates a range of subjects that share the common ground of creativity, expression, function and composition. In essence, this includes: the fine arts (painting, printmaking, sculpture, installation); computer-aided design or visual communication through print and animation; and three-dimensional design. There are also many specialist fields including photography, public art, film and TV. The course encourages students to explore and resolve findings of their own devising, and conduct a Personal Investigation. In the process, they acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and DT.