Icknield Community College GCSE Art and Design Exhibition 2020

We are delighted to invite you to view the 2020 GCSE Art & Design exhibition of students work in a virtual Art Gallery.  Please enjoy walking around the Gallery and click on any work to find out a little more about how the students created their pieces.

We are immensely proud of all of the students and the exhibition reflects the enormous and exceptional hard work which the students put in to creating this year’s portfolios.

What we teach

At Key Stage 3 students explore the fundamental elements of art and design, inspired by a range of themes and stimulus and develop a visual awareness of their world through the exploration of a wide variety of media, techniques and processes. Students are encouraged to explore and experiment, record their observations and develop independent enquiry and critical awareness. We develop student’s confidence to articulate, analyse and reflect on their work which enables them to grow and become independent learners who are able to express their feelings and ideas visually.

At Key Stage 4 students follow the AQA GCSE syllabus for Art, Craft and Design. The course provides students with opportunities to explore a wide range of starting points using processes and techniques which develop, build and extend their prior learning from Key Stage 3. A typical unit of work will explore the four assessment objectives by taking students on a creative journey, investigating the work of other artists, crafts people and designers and developing ideas and experimenting as their ideas grow and take shape. There are typically two coursework units and an exam unit, where students sit a ten hour exam in which they produce their final outcome.

How we teach

Students learn, explore and develop through a range of teaching strategies and experiences in Art. Discussion and questioning techniques enable students to gain confidence in visual analysis and thinking. New practical techniques and media processes are taught using a range of whole class demonstration methods and individual one to one coaching. Students are encouraged to be brave and take risks with their learning, contributing to whole class enquiry and applying new skills to their own practice. Homework is used to embed or extend learning from lesson to lesson or to investigate independently.

The Art Department is always seeking opportunities to extend students Art experience and learning beyond the classroom. This may take the form of workshops delivered by practicing artists or visits to Galleries and Museums. The Art Department looks to work with other subjects to create meaningful cross curricular opportunities for groups of students. 

Why we teach

The Icknield Art Department is a vibrant, forward-thinking creative environment where visual learning and understanding is nurtured and challenged in every student. We create learning opportunities which foster creative enquiry, stimulate visual awareness and develop in each student the foundation for a positive, lifelong relationship with the arts.