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Art and Design
| Head of Art | Miss E Nicholas |
|---|---|
| Art Teachers | Ms C Lucibello |
| Curriculum Support | Mrs J Hall |
Students at Chelmer Valley are encouraged to work creatively. Creativity cannot be passive, it must be active, fostered by student engagement and autonomy.
We believe students learn best through practical engagement and classes are planned to build experience based on actively making and creating Art. Students are given the opportunity to work with a broad range of materials and techniques over the length of KS3. These may include paint, pencils, mixed media, collage, clay or sculpture, printmaking, ICT work. They are introduced to the use of sketchbooks and are encouraged to develop good working practice- recording information and observations, experimenting and gathering resources to help stimulate and develop imaginative ideas and responses.
Projects are non- prescriptive and allow for personal interpretation and active engagement through practical experimentation, creative play and progressive development of Art themes, processes, concepts and conventions. Variation within schemes of work allow planning & tailoring of delivery for individual student and class needs; including differentiation and providing stretch and challenge for the more able.
Art club and the department open door policy mean students can come and work practically in their own time to support their learning or expand an area of interest.
Key Stage Three
Key stage 3 information
Students should have a basic range of materials to complete work at home, these include: drawing pencils (a 2B pencil is most suitable), a rubber, colouring pencils, felt pens and some type of water based paints. Students are given a hardback sketch book to last them throughout KS3. If lost, the book is approximately £4.50 to replace. We do ask for a £5 contribution to enable students to take work home at the end of the academic year and contribute towards their sketchbook purchase.
Year 7 Scheme of Work
Introduction to The Visual Elements, the language of Art. Students are exposed to a broad range of media and approaches to inform, stimulate and develop their understanding of Artistic conventions and processes. Artists/movements studied but not limited to; Van Gogh, Max Ernst, Rangoli/ mehndhi designs, David Hockney, Henri Matisse.
Year 9 Scheme of Work
Students are introduced to more stretching and abstract concepts. Work is loosely linked to the figure building on the work introduced in year 8. They begin to explore more fully the meanings, intentions and context of Artists’ work through research and practical exploration. Other themes covered include methods of abstraction in which concepts of Perspective, Abstraction processes, Movement and Dreams are introduced. Artists/ movements studied but not limited to, Surrealism, Futurism, Pop Art, Impressionism, Delaunay, Matisse, Picasso.
Key Stage Four
Key stage 4
Art and Design
Exam board- Edexcel (1FA0)
We believe students should work at a pace that allows them to make independent decisions and challenge perceptions. Programmes of study are devised to foster creativity, experimentation and exploration through developing their understanding and skills.
Students develop key skills and understanding in year 10 with workshop skills based around structures. They have an exam in the summer based around a set paper, and another in the Autumn term of Year 11. All workshop skills and both exams form their portfolio which is worth 60% of their overall exam. The externally set paper, given in January, is worth 40% of their final GCSE. Students can purchase an art pack from the department to provide the materials they will need to complete work in class and at home. All students have the opportunity to attend a trip, usually to experience artwork in a gallery setting.
Key Stage 4
Photography
Exam board - Edexcel (1PY0)
We believe students should work at a pace that allows them to make
independent decisions and challenge perceptions. Programmes of study are devised
to foster creativity, experimentation and exploration through developing their understanding and skills.
Students develop key skills and understanding in year 10 with workshop skills based around still life, portraits and landscape. They develop understanding of camera functions, dark room practice and compositional approaches through the workshop exercises, which they can later use to inform their personal portfolio work. They have an exam in the summer based around a set paper, and another in the Autumn term of year 11. All workshop skills and both exams form their portfolio which is worth 60% of their overall exam. The externally set paper, given in January of year 11, is worth 40% of their final GCSE. Students can purchase a photography pack from the department to provide the materials they will need to complete work in class and at home. All students have the opportunity to attend a trip, usually to experience original artwork in a gallery setting.
Key Stage Five
Exam board- OCR Fine Art (H601)
The A Level is a two-year linear course.
Work is developed practically in a wide range of media including painting, drawing, sculptural work installations, animation and mixed media.
Students are encouraged to keep a visual diary to record experiences, research and the development of their ideas. Year 12 focuses on workshop style lessons to build key skills and explore themes, context, artist intentions and processes in greater depth. Students select one question to develop personally through practical work and
research in the form of an illustrated essay (1000 words).
Year 13 allows students to expand the work from year 12, or work from fresh stimuli from a series of questions and concepts. Students work towards a 15-hour practical exam to gain experience and make a personal outcome based on their research. This, along with their written Related Study (1000- 3000 words) accounts for 60% of their overall A Level grade. The external paper is set in February, and students work to develop understanding of context, intention and practical processes culminating in a 15-hour exam. All students have the opportunity to attend a trip, usually to experience original artwork in a gallery setting.
Exam Board-OCR- Photography (H603)
The A Level is a two-year linear course.
In year 12 traditional and digital working practice are explored via a series of workshop style lessons to introduce students to the vocabulary, camera functions and working methods of photography. Students look in depth at the historical, social and contextual factors which impacted on the ethos and outcomes from first technological prints to current outcomes including installations and mixed media pieces. Students are encouraged to keep a visual diary to record experiences, research and the development of their ideas. This work provides the starting point for more personalised learning where students write and illustrated essay (1000) and explore their chosen theme practically.
Year 13 allows students to expand the work from year 12, or work from fresh stimuli from a series of questions and concepts. Students work towards a 15-hour practical exam to gain experience and make a personal outcome based on their research. This, along with their written Related Study (1000- 3000 words) accounts for 60% of their overall A Level grade. The external paper is set in February, and students work to develop understanding of context, intention and practical processes culminating in a 15-hour exam. All students have the opportunity to attend a trip, usually to experience original artwork in a gallery setting.
Enrichment
Christmas Cards
We hold an annual competition to design the Chelmer Valley High School official Christmas card. The winning card is used by Mrs Goodchild as the schools corporate card. The winner receives copies of the card and a prize.
Christmas Decorations at Broomfield Hospital
The Chelmer Valley High School’s Art Department and Year 8 students worked with Broomfield Hospital’s ICU and High Dependency unit to bring a splash of festive cheer to the wards. The students visited the hospital to see their work on display.
Fireworks Poster
Each year we ask students to design the background for our annual Chelmer Valley High School fireworks display.
Royal Academy Day
A model and lecturer from the Royal Academy of Art visited Chelmer Valley High School to run a ‘still life’ workshop with our Year 11, 12 and 13 Art students. The students received valuable advice on still life techniques and took a lot away from the experience.
Essex Showcase for the Arts
Art work from Chelmer Valley High School’s GCSE and A Level students was displayed around central Chelmsford.
Summer Review
The Summer Review takes place in July, parents are invited to a cross-curricular event to celebrate student success and discover what departments have been involved in throughout the year. Students’ artwork is exhibited to showcase achievement and to celebrate success across all year groups, along with a selection of sketchbooks and exam pieces.
Art Extended Learning
Extended learning
The department has an Open Door policy- any student can attend outside of lessons to work on homework, extend their learning or develop and area of interest. All A Level students are encouraged to use the available rooms during their non-timetabled lessons.
Art Club runs on Tuesday after school 3:00pm-4:30pm with Miss Nicholas for Key Stage 3 students to develop new skills like claywork or batik printing and sometimes work on community projects, like the poppies made for the Remembrance centenary exhibition at St Mary with St Leonard church.
Photography club runs on a Tuesday after school, 3:00pm- 4:30pm with Ms Lucibello offering a range of practical activities from making your own pinhole camera to learning how to take better photographs. Both clubs have sign-up sheets and offer different activities on a half termly basis.
Trips, visits and visiting practitioners
The sixth form have regular trips to London galleries, including the Tate Modern and Tate Britain, The National Gallery and The Haywood Gallery.
At KS3 students visit places of interest and galleries like the Henry Moore Foundation, the Cambridge Fitzwilliam Museum, the William Morris gallery and the Courthauld Gallery.
Visiting Artists work with students and specific year groups on a range of themes- this year environmental artist Michael Condron worked with year 9 students to explore sculptural construction though card pieces assembled and The Royal Academy have come into school to work figuratively with the Sixth form and GCSE students to improve drawing skills and visual thinking.
Community links
Students engage with the local community though activities like designing the logo for Broomfield Parish council, designing and making decorations for wards at Broomfield hospital and poppies for the parish church Remembrance Day
Essex Showcase for the Arts
Art work from Chelmer Valley High School’s GCSE and A Level students was displayed around central Chelmsford.
Progress in Art
Attainment Targets
A statement from the new National Curriculum for Key Stage 3 from the Government…..
“By the end of key stage 3, students are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specific in the relevant programme of study”
To ensure this happens, every student is assessed via a broad range of information and results available to us. Part of this assessment measures their Artistic ability. We have a new ‘Steps’ model of assessment that is based on the similar assessment objectives used at GCSE and A Level. The assessment objectives are split into 5 strands and the results from this are combined with KS2 data to produce a more accurate picture of a student’s artistic ability. An overall step point score is also worked out by a simple formula from the attainment made in each strand of the assessment, as this also gives a quick and easy way of seeing general performance and the strands we access measure the same criteria set by the exam board at GCSE – but at an age appropriate level.
The students are expected to make one full step of progress overall during the year, but this can be an average of progress over the range of strands…For example, Pupil X might get a baseline score of 3, 3, 2, 2, 3 for five strands….This results in an overall Step Point score of 3.6…They would then be expected to reach 4.6 by the end of Y7, 5.6 by the end of Y8, and 6.6 by the end of Y9. This would be a minimum expectation and targets could be adjusted each year to maintain challenge for each individual.
You will receive a regular report showing your child’s attainment and progress in Art. It will also show their overall step point.
What is a Step Grid
A step grid is a cornerstone of our new assessment model. It is a basic summary of all the work that can be covered in each of the new Key Stage 3 programmes of study.
Art at Key Stage 3 in Chelmer Valley High School is split up into 5 strands (think of them as broad areas of work) that are covered over the three years of the key stage.
Within each strand there are 9 steps of progress. They are short summative statements that indicate what each pupil should have learnt to reach that step. A pupil who reaches step 5 would have achieved all the steps below (1 to 4) and step 5 to be accredited at that point. A combination of the strand and scores also gives an overall step point.
Beyond summative statements for current performance, the step grid can give an early indication of expected performance at KS4. Subject leaders have designed the grids with GCSE performance in mind and the final overall step point reached by the end of Y9 will indicate an estimated level of performance for the end of KS4 (EOKS4) in the end column.
Art Links with Broomfield Hospital
Broomfield Hospital to produce paintings for the hoardings and these were successfully auctioned when the hospital officially opened. Half of the money went back into the Art Department for new resources and half went directly to the students.
Our GCSE students also worked with one of the artists to produce work for the Maternity ward. Sasha Ward was commissioned by the Hospital Trust to produce some glasswork for this area. Sasha came into school and worked with a small group of GCSE students. If you visit the Maternity ward, you will see our students designs incorporated into her work. It is truly brilliant. Some of these students came on a trip to view all the artwork at the hospital and were astounded and proud when they saw their ideas on display.
Students collaborated to produce Artwork for the Hospital based on British wildflowers and work was released for permanent display.
A Level and GCSE work is exhibited in Chelmsford as part of the Essex Showcase. Work is displayed in the new canteen and school during the Chelmer Creative Festival in July.
