Art
The Art Department has a large specialist classroom which has an interactive whiteboard, IT facilities, kiln and a darkroom.
Throughout KS3 students follow the national curriculum and are taught a wide range of skills in different media, ranging from drawing, painting, clay, textiles and 3D construction. Skills are taught through a wide range of project based themes such as Portraiture, Jungle, Masks, Urban Art and Japanese Manga.
In Key Stage 4 students opting for Art follow the AQA GCSE course. Students study two teacher led projects and then have the opportunity to develop their own specialist project, which in the past has ranged from Computer Games Packaging Design to Fashion Illustration. At the end of the course an exhibition is held in the school showcasing the students’ work.
After school there are sessions for GCSE and A-level students to develop their portfolios of work. From 2011 we have started to develop extracurricular digital photography through a series of workshops which have been open to all year groups and have been enhanced by the suite of Apple computers in our new Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise room. Students will practice their skills on trips to a variety of locations which so far have included Tanfield Railway, Chopwell Woods and Ravensworth Castle.
The Art Department has close links with local art galleries such as The Shipley and The Baltic and organise visits, workshops and projects through the year. Additional opportunities include 3D animation workshops at the City Learning Centre in Heworth Grange and visits from professional artists as part of our Learning for Life programme.
