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Art & Design
Examining Board - Edexcel
Additional course entry requirement
Grade 6 in GCSE art or applied art (if taken). Grade 5 in GCSE maths and English language.
Portfolio required to judge suitability if art not taken or predicted below 6 at GCSE
Why art & design?
A level art & design provides a fantastic opportunity for students to explore their creative talents. One in every six jobs in the UK held by graduates is in the creative economy, showing the importance of art as a subject.
Art students at Woodhouse develop their creativity and produce a diverse range of creative work. Essential skills in drawing, painting, print, 3D, problem-solving, research, critical analysis, experimenting and presentation are all a part of the course. Many of these skills are transferable across other subjects and are highly valuable in all areas of education and work.
More than 50% of art students progress onto creative courses such as architecture, history of art, animation, and art and design foundation. This includes institutions such as UCL (the Bartlett School of Architecture), the Courtauld Institute of Art, Central Saint Martins and many others. Many art students also progress onto non-art-related degree courses.
Course content
The course centres mostly on fine-art approaches and in year one you will explore techniques from a variety of stimuli while completing practical projects. This will include man-made and natural forms, the human figure, landscape, architecture and other starting points.
Your art skills and techniques will develop through taught workshops and research. You will learn to analyse the work of well-known artists and develop personal themes, producing final outcomes that show your skills and ideas. These can be in the form of sculptures, paintings, mixed-media work, textiles, ceramics and other forms.
In year two, students have the opportunity to develop their own project ideas using all the skills acquired in year one.