Art and Design at The Cornerstone Academy

Students follow a three-year Key Stage 3 curriculum in Art and Design, based on the National Curriculum programme of study. Key Stage 3 Art and Design therefore engages, inspires and challenges pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. Students are introduced to Art as a process. As pupils progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design.  

 For example, students could be required to: 

Produce artifacts, exploring their ideas through the appreciation of representational and non-representational art. 

Develop their skills using a variety of media and techniques, including taught and experimental uses of materials, to create outcomes. 

Drawing is at the heart of all Art and Design activities and is taught regularly as a discipline for visual communication. 

Develop an understanding of Art and Design throughout history in context to the development of their own work. 

Understand the process of experimentation, evaluation and refinement of materials and techniques. 

At GCSE students follow the AQA GCSE Art, Craft and Design. This qualification enables our students to develop a wide range of skills in painting, drawing, photography, ceramics and mixed media. The course is made up of two Units. 

Unit 1: Portfolio of Work Controlled Assessment (60%) Student portfolio selected from work undertaken during course of study and must include at least two projects.  There is no restriction on the scale of work produced.  Students must demonstrate an ability to sustain work from initial starting point or project briefs to the realisation of intentions.  Explicit evidence of the relationship between process and outcome must be presented in such forms as sketchbooks, visual diaries, design sheets, design proposals, preparatory studies, annotated sheets and experimentation with materials, working methods and techniques. 

Unit 2:  Externally Set Task Question paper issued in the January of Year 11(40%). Students are given unlimited preparation time to respond to a chosen starting point from the question paper.  During the preparatory period, teachers may discuss starting points with students and give them general guidance on the choice of materials, how to carry out preparatory studies or how to begin research on the chosen starting point.  This is then followed by 10 hours of sustained focused study where students will produce a personal outcome.