There are three options that students can choose from offered by the Art Department: Fine Art, Photography and Graphic Communications. This is a two year course with students having 3 lessons per week .
Each has the same assessment criteria and for students to be successful all of the assessment areas must be addressed equally.  Students need to be able to develop ideas. Through a range of experiments that develop skill (recording), reviewing and refining work as it progresses and need to be able to analyse the work of other Artists, Photographers and Designers in such a way that they show understanding of the ideas and processes that underpin the work and be able to make links with their own.  Students are assessed regularly and targets for improvement given.
At the end of the two year course students are formally assessed on their coursework 60% of the total grade and an externally set assignment 40% of the total mark. As the confidence and skills base grows students will produce increasingly sophisticated responses. The learning Journey is recorded in the students’ sketchbook which documents the evidence of progress and understanding and will have a range of experimental pieces and analytical research of other practitioners to support the students’ own developments .
Students will have a separate sketchbook for the externally set assessment.  There will be an external moderator who will visit the school as part of the final assessment of students.
This course will build on the skills and knowledge base developed in key stage three and students will be encouraged to develop their ideas into surprising and polished responses. Outcomes could be in any of the many genres of photography. We develop an understanding of how to make a good photograph exploring framing, lighting, focus and depth of field. Valuable and relevant research and analysis is key to understanding the working practices of other artists and is therefore an important aspect of the course. To make this understanding stronger we aim to make Gallery Visits during the course for students to have first hand experience. The intent of the programme of learning is to ensure that all students develop knowledge and master a range of skills. Students are taught to build and develop both practical and analytical skills in order that they can communicate their ideas photographically both effectively and creatively. Students will also make work on location, in Dartford, Whitstable and Rochester.Â
There are a range of short focused themes for year 10 where students will develop their photographic skills and also explore important issues and look at the work of photographers across time, place and culture. We work mainly digitally but in addition explore and utilise early photographic processes such as the Cyanotype developed in the 1840s. Students will therefore also develop problem solving skills, empathy, lateral thinking, risk taking and of course creativity. In this way we hope that we can broaden horizons and encourage them to step beyond familiar cultural boundaries and develop new ways of seeing and representing their world. In essence we aim to demystify the arts and allow our students to see themselves as artist with a voice and ability to communicate their personal responses in a personal portfolio (Unit 1).
This course should enable students to:
Develop their ability to communicate their ideas with confidence and coherently both visually and analyticallyÂ
Express ideas effectivelyÂ
Develop ideas and plans and make valuable and relevant researchÂ
Develop their practical skills and control of a range of process and technique Â
Develop a broad knowledge base of the work of other photographers and be able to articulate their own ideas in response to the work of others
Review and refine their work as it progresses and identify specific areas for improvementÂ
Make links with their own work and that of others – see their own work in Context with the visual arts world.
Create a body of work (portfolio) that evidences learning and progress.
By the end of the first year of this course students have good grounding in how to take a good photograph and how ideas can be developed in a range of ways and how they can express their ideas.
Assessment information
Students will complete a one day (5 hour) examination/ mock at the end of year 10. In year 11 the externally set assessment is 10 Hours.
The following assessment areas will be addressed.
AO1: Develop ideas from primary and contextual sourcesÂ
AO2: Refines ideas through experimentation
AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights through visual meansÂ
AO4: Present a personal response and make connections with the work of other practitionersÂ
Exam Board Information
GCSE Art and Design: Photography (2 PH01)
Additional Resources
To be found on Google classroom. The code is s2mmviz.
The course in year 11 is divided into 2 sections: Coursework (personal portfolio) Unit 1 and Externally set assignment (exam) unit 2. Students will work on a new themes in year 11 starting by exploring the abstract photography of Barbara Casten which will develop into the broadening theme of ‘Fragments’ which will form the basis of the coursework until January Students will create a range of outcomes, exploring different genres: portrait, still life and abstract. The focus will be on developing experimental practices: digital, physical and experimental.
Students will build on and extend their skill base revisiting genres and processes developed in year 10. We will be making an off site visit to Whitstable to do some street photography, landscape photography, urban photography, typology and abstract photographs to build a personal Whitstable portfolio.Â
The teaching of coursework will end in January when the externally set exam paper is issued. This is a taught exam and students will be guided with workshops and a customised exam paper in order to develop ideas and responses in preparation for the timed test in April or May. Students will have 10 hrs to complete their timed test. They will need to present all supporting material in their sketchbook at the end of the examination. Students are thoroughly supported throughout this process with additional developmental days available in the Easter Holiday.
Moderation of all work both the timed test and the exam work will take place at the end of June. It is expected that students will complete any outstanding pieces of coursework in the time between the end of the exam and the external moderation date.Â
To facilitate student progress teachers will guide students through the ideas and as with year 11 the assessment areas do not change so students will be required to have good evidence of planning and the development of ideas, an experimental approach evidence of review and refinement and final evaluation as well as demonstrating a confident approach to the use of a range of techniques and processes applied with care to create high quality photographic and analytical responses.
There will be a one day (5 hours) examination/ mock in November or early December of year 11. Students will be asked to, plan, practice and prepare for the exam. The following assessment areas will be addressed . This will give the students a good insight into the format of the externally set assignment.
AO1 : Develop ideas from primary and contextual sourcesÂ
AO2: Refines ideas through experimentation
AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights through visual meansÂ
AO4: Present a personal response and make connections with the work of other practitioners.
There are three options that students can choose from offered by the Art Dept. Fine Art, Photography and Graphic Communications. This is a two year course with students having 4 lessons per week.  Each has the same assessment criteria and for students to be successful all of the assessment areas must be addressed equally.
The same assessment areas apply for A level as with GCSE. The expectation and the levels of achievement are higher. Students therefore need to be able to develop ideas demonstrating higher level thinking Â
Through a broad range of experiments that develop skills to a high level (recording) reviewing and refining work as it progresses and need to be able to make in depth analysis the work of other Artists, Photographers and Designers in such a way that they show thorough understanding of the ideas and processes that underpin the work and be able to make good personal commentary about the work of other practitioners that link with their own .
In all the Arts based A levels students will be required to make an 3000 word essay that explores the work of other Artists, Photographers or Designers who have explored ideas and made work that connects to the students own investigations. This will be completed In year 13 when students will be working on a self directed pathway of learning which is facilitated by staff. Each student in year 13 will therefore be working on an individual theme.
Students are assessed regularly and targets for improvement given. Â
At the end of the two year course students are formally assessed on their coursework component which is made up of practical responses and the personal study essay 60% of the total grade and an externally set assignment 40% of the total work.Â
As the confidence and skills base grows students will produce increasingly sophisticated responses and by year 13 it is expected that a truly personal approach will be seen in the work of every student.. The learning Journey is recorded in the students’ sketchbook which documents the evidence of progress and understanding and will have a range of experimental pieces and analytical research of other practitioners to support the students’ own developments.
Students will have a separate sketchbook for the externally set assignment.
There will be an external moderator who will visit the school as part of the final assessment of students’ work. Students will mount and present their work in an exhibition for the moderator to see.
In the first year of the A level Photography course is designed to develop a broad range of photographic skills in a range of photographic genres. Students will learn how to use a digital SLR camera with its many functions and how to enhance images for the best effect. Lighting and layout are revisited. Students will learn to be experimental, develop ideas and create strong, dynamic images. Alongside all the practical experiments that are designed to generate ideas students will learn how to make in depth analysis of the work of other photographers that demonstrate a real understanding of the working practices of others and will help to enrich the students’ own responses. The course for Yr 12 is very structured, with a lot of teacher input and a group focii.
The theme for year 12 is Relationships. Students will explore emotional as well as physical relationships. Students will make work in responses to the relationship of colour and shape, balance, structure, viewpoint as well as physical relationships and interaction. They will be introduced to analogue techniques as well as digital with Cyanotypes as the key focus. The aim of the year 12 course is to introduce the students to as many different ways of working as possible, therefore there are a range of short focused practical tasks have been designed to develop skills and confidence, Students will also learn how to digitally enhance their images using Photoshop. The aim is that by the end of year 12 students are confident in the handling of a range of media and are proficient in their use of the camera . They will learn to plan and develop responses to the theme and make analysis rather than description , when exploring the work of others. By the end of the first year we aim that knowledge has become understanding.
This course should enable students to:
Develop their ability to communicate their ideas with confidence and coherently both visually and analytically demonstrating high level thinking skillsÂ
Express ideas effectively in a range of photographic techniques and processes
Develop strong ideas and plans and make in depth valuable and relevant researchÂ
Develop their practical skills to a high level and control of a range of photographic technique traditional and digital
Develop a broad knowledge base of the work of other practitioners and be able to articulate their own ideas, construct coherent arguments and develop conclusions in response to the work of others.
Review and refine their work as it progresses and identify specific areas for improvementÂ
Make connections with their own work and that of others [ see their own work in Context with the visual arts world] and use their growing knowledge to enrich and enhance their own.
Create a large body of work (portfolio) that evidences learning and progress.
By the end of the first year of this course students will have had the experience of a range of media and process and will have been introduced to the work of others through research visits to the Photographers Gallery and Tate Modern. They should be able to develop ideas in a range of ways to express their ideas. Students will also be working on location for street photography in London and Whitstable and or Margate.
Students will complete a two-day (10 hours) examination/ mock at the end of year 12. In year 13 the externally set assignment is 15 Hours. Students will be assessed on the following assessment areas.
Assessment Information
Students will complete a two-day [10 hours] examination/ mock at the end of year 12. In year 13 the externally set assignment is 15 Hours. Students will be assessed on the following assessment areas.
AO1: Develop ideas from primary and contextual sourcesÂ
AO2: Refines ideas through experimentation
AO3: Record ideas , observations and insights through visual meansÂ
AO4: Present a personal response and make connections with the work of other practitioners.
The Focus for the development of work in year 13 shifts from the teacher to the student. All students will develop their own pathway of learning. They will develop a theme and explore the ideas that connect to it and make analysis of the work of other practitioners whose work has a connection to the theme. They will make a series of pieces (portfolio) in response to their own theme applying all the skills and knowledge that have developed in the first year of their course. The teacher will guide and suggest different directions for the students to follow. Alongside their practical responses and the accompanying research students will begin their personal study Essay. It is expected that this will be a critical essay that explores the ideas and meaning, working practices and processes and context of the Artists they are investigating. This personal study is assessed separately. It is important and can have a significant effect on the final grade.
The personal study is assessed on the students ability to:
Develop ideas
Explore the work of other practitioners content context, mood process influence
Record own responses and make constructive argumentsÂ
Present a conclusion or personal response.Â
 The personal study is weighted as 12% of the total mark.Â
The practical coursework focus will finish in January when the externally set assignment (component 2) is issued by the exam board. The focus for students will then be their response to the given theme. This is a taught exam and therefore students will be guided with a customised exam paper and workshops in order that they develop ideas and their best response. Students will have a separate exam sketchbook for the exam.
By the end of the first year of this course students will have had the experience of a range of media and process and will have been introduced to the work of others through research, visits to galleries which should then enable them to develop ideas in a range of ways to express their ideas.
Assessment Information
Students will complete a two-day (10 hours) examination/ mock at the end of year 12. In year 13 the externally set assignment is 15 Hours. Students will be assessed on the following assessment areas.
AO1: Develop ideas from primary and contextual sourcesÂ
AO2: Refines ideas through experimentation
AO3: Record ideas , observations and insights through visual meansÂ
AO4: Present a personal response and make connections with the work of other practitioners.
Each assessment area has the same weighting of 18 with a total mark of 72. This is combined with the Personal Study mark 18 to give a total mark of 90.
There will be a mock examination in November/ December of year 13 where students will have the opportunity to experience the long examination time, develop the work for their theme and make an addition coursework piece for component 1.
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