Art and Design (Fine Art)

Exam Board: AQA

In Year 12, the first term will be a skilled based rotation, expanding on your drawing, painting and photography skills. Using one to one tutorials you will then devise a topic or a question with your teacher that interests you, this topic will be one that you will then: research through drawings and photography, develop and explore through experimentation of various materials. You will be looking at a range of different artists and cultures and responding to them. Your teacher will guide you in ideas, artists and techniques and you will work in a sketchbook but you also may choose to work on a larger scale.

In Year 13, you will continue to develop your work and refine your skills but alongside this you will also be expected to write an essay about your investigations. The essay needs to be between 1000 and 3000 words, it can include images to illustrate your points and must have a bibliography of all sources you have used throughout your project.

At the end of your coursework unit you will also create a final piece which realises your intentions.

Exam: The examination preparatory period starts on the 1st February of year 13, you will have this time until the start of the exam to complete a project based on an externally set title. You will then complete a 15 hour exam to create your final exam piece.

Assessment

60% coursework / 40% exam

Requirements

Sixth Form entry requirements.

Where can it lead?

A lot of students choose to do an art foundation course after A levels to help them specialise and decide on a course for university. There are a wide range of art courses that lead to many options of careers related to art.  For example careers such as set and prop design, makeup artist, animation, illustration, fashion design, graphic design, textile design, photography, art therapy, art teacher, curator, marketing and advertising just to name a few.