Art and Design

The Art Department offers a friendly and supportive environment where the girls are encouraged to express their ideas in a creative, confident and constructive way. Observational and technical skills are taught through drawing and painting, digital photography and computer manipulation, printmaking, and sculpture, with the opportunity to develop textile work in Batik and silk painting. The four specialist Art and Design staff cover fine art (painting and sculpture), graphic design, fashion and textiles.

Art work is displayed around the school and at the end of the school year there is a major exhibition of all the pupils’ examination work held in our purpose-built art facility.

Art is an optional subject at both GCSE  and A level, as well as within our International Baccalaureate course. The quality of work done here is of a high standard, with some girls choosing to go on to both foundation and degree courses in Art and Design following their Sixth Form studies.

Years 7-9
All girls study art in Years 7, 8 and 9.

Year 7
The theme is 'Imagination', explored through a variety of media in both 2 and 3-dimensional work, to encourage confident expression of imaginative ideas. 

Year 8
The theme is ‘Pattern and colour’. Girls go on to develop an understanding of colour and pattern by looking at different cultures and artistic styles. A range of media and materials is explored and research skills are encouraged.

Year 9
Projects deal with ‘Proportion and Perspective’. Girls are encouraged to develop their technical knowledge in both 2 and 3- dimensional work to give them the confidence to realise their ideas.

GCSE
The projects set during the course encourage the girls to convey, compose and record their visual ideas. They look at the work of other artists, and learn to evaluate this and their own work. As well as drawing and painting, girls experiment with a variety of media, from 3D to textiles. Art history is taught within each project.

There are frequent trips to important galleries and exhibitions which inspire a great deal of work.

The course culminates in a practical exam and a final exhibition of the two years’ work.   

Sixth Form
In the Sixth Form, Art is offer at AS and A2 level as well as at both standard and higher level for the International Baccalaureate.

Pupils build on their artistic knowledge, adding depth to their technical skills. This helps them to express their own creative ideas to a sophisticated level.

Life drawing classes are held once a week throughout the autumn and spring terms; here the fundaments of drawing are covered. Trips to galleries, museums and workshops which relate to the girls’ own work are organised throughout their course.

A level History of Art is taught as a separate subject by an Art History specialist. This is a popular course for our students to pursue at University.