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Art: Key Stage 4

Subject: Art and Design: Fine Art

Qualification: GCSE (60180870)
Exam Board: Eduqas

What will I study?

GCSE Art and Design broadens experience, develops imagination and technical skills, fosters creativity and promotes personal and social development. You will explore broad themes allowing you to experience a diverse range of activities. You will have the opportunity to experiment with different media in order to identify your strengths and preferences allowing you to develop individually as an artist. The aim of the course is to extend your visual language skills and your confidence when making decisions independently. In the context of Art you will develop critical, practical and theoretical skills that you can transfer to other subjects. You will build a comprehensive portfolio of work to progress to further courses or employment.

Is this the right subject for me?
The GCSE Art and Design is ideal for students who:
• are keen to develop their visual and making skills through drawing, painting and printmaking
• are creative, enthusiastic and imaginative
• enjoy visits to galleries, museums and workshops
• are keen to experiment, embrace challenge, make decisions, take risks and solve problems
• are willing to develop and refine their work

What do I need to know, or be able to do, before taking this course?
The course will enable you to develop your art and design skills, it is important for you to be committed, love the subject and feel motivated to develop your skills practically and express your own ideas.

How will I be assessed?

Component 1: Portfolio
60% of GCSE
120 marks

Internally set and marked; assessed through controlled assessment.

Component 2: Externally Set Assignment
40% of GCSE
80 marks
Externally set theme and internally marked.

Further information

www.eduqas.co.uk

www.thecreativeindustries.co.uk

www.prospects.ac.uk

Subject: Graphic Communication (From Sept 2022)

Qualification: GCSE (60180870)

Exam Board: Eduqas                                

 

What will I study?

GCSE Graphics Communication broadens experience, develops imagination and technical skills, fosters creativity and promotes personal and social development.

Graphic Communication is defined here as the process of creating visual material to convey information, ideas and emotions through the use of symbols, diagrams, drawings, photographs, maps and typography.  You will explore practical and relevant critical and contextual sources, such as the work of historical and contemporary graphic designers and the different purposes, intentions and functions of graphic communication. The aim of the course is to develop your creative thinking skills and communication skills through the combination of words and images. You will have the opportunity to experiment with different media, including design software, in order to identify your strengths and preferences allowing you to develop individually as a designer. Outcomes may be two- or three-dimensional, taking the form of posters, brochures, packaging, publicity materials, three-dimensional point-of-sale and exhibition design. You will build a comprehensive portfolio of work to progress to further courses or employment.

Is this the right subject for me?

The GCSE Graphic Communication is ideal for students who:

  • are keen to develop their visual and making skills through drawing, modelling and CAD.
  • are creative, enthusiastic and imaginative
  • enjoy visits to galleries, museums and workshops
  • are keen to experiment, embrace challenge, make decisions, take risks and solve problems
  • are willing to develop and refine their work

 

What do I need to know, or be able to do, before taking this course?

The course will enable you to develop your art and design skills; it is important for you to be committed, love the subject and be motivated to develop your skills practically and resource and express your own ideas.

How will I be assessed?

Component 1: Portfolio
60% of GCSE
120 marks

Internally set and marked; assessed through controlled assessment.

Component 2: Externally Set Assignment - Externally set theme and internally marked.
40% of GCSE
80 marks

Each component is assessed separately using 4 assessment objectives, with each AO equally weighted.
AO1 Critical understanding - Develop ideas through investigations, demonstrating critical understanding of sources
AO2 Creative making - Refine work by exploring ideas, selecting and experimenting with appropriate media, materials, techniques and processes.
AO3 Reflective recording - Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions as work progresses.
AO4 Personal presentation - Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language.


You will receive written and verbal feedback throughout the course as you develop your portfolios. Formative comments are matched against the four assessment criteria. Summative assessments will give you a grade and written feedback. You are encouraged to set and review personal targets in response to feedback during the development of your work. The body of coursework has a final grading at the end of the course. All four Assessment Objectives must be covered for each project.

 

What can this qualification lead to?

You could progress to further education courses at Level 3, for example

  • GCE A Level Art and Design
  • GCE A Level Photography
  • Graphic Design Level 3 Diploma

You could then progress to an Art Foundation course followed by one of the many art based degree courses for example, Graphic design, Fashion, Photography, Architecture, Automotive Design, Illustration, Games Design or Fine Art.

Your portfolio of work will provide evidence of your ability to pursue a two-year GCSE course, covering different assignments and producing a range of work when you seek employment. There may be opportunities to work in a local design office, graphics company, advertising or retail or you may choose an apprenticeship.

 

Further information

www.eduqas.co.uk

www.thecreativeindustries.co.uk

www.prospects.ac.uk

Link to the specification

https://www.eduqas.co.uk/media/ozvlit0g/eduqas-gcse-art-and-design-spec-from-2016-27-01-2020.pdf

 

Subject: Art and Design: Photography

Qualification: GCSE

Exam Board: Eduqas

What will I study?

Photography is defined as creating durable static or moving images by recording light with light-sensitive materials such as photographic film or digitally by means of an image sensor. It can include still photography and other lens-based media.

You will explore practical and relevant critical and contextual sources such as the work of historical and contemporary photographers and the different purposes, intentions and functions of photography which are appropriate to your work. You will need to demonstrate the ability to work creatively with processes and techniques appropriate to the chosen area study such as: photograms; pinhole cameras; digital processes; stop-frame animation; photomontage; digital manipulation of images. Your outcomes can be screen or print-based, comprise still or moving images. You can explore practitioners working in such areas as advertising, photojournalism, fashion, wildlife, industrial and technical photography. The aim of the course is to extend your visual language skills and your confidence when making decisions independently. In the context of photography, you will develop critical, practical and theoretical skills that you can transfer to other subjects.

Is this the right subject for me?

The GCSE Photography is ideal for students who:

  • are keen to develop their visual awareness and creativity through photography
  • are creative, enthusiastic and imaginative
  • enjoy visits to galleries, museums and workshops
  • are keen to experiment, embrace challenge, make decisions, take risks and solve problems
  • are willing to document, develop and refine their work

 

What do I need to know, or be able to do, before taking this course?

The course will enable you to develop your art and design skills, it is important for you to be committed, love the subject and feel motivated to develop your skills practically and express your own ideas.

How will I be assessed?

Component 1: Portfolio
60% of GCSE
120 marks

Internally set and marked; assessed through controlled assessment.

Component 2: Externally Set Assignment
40% of GCSE
80 marks
Externally set theme and internally marked.
Each component is assessed separately using 4 assessment objectives, with each AO equally weighted.
AO1 Critical understanding - Develop ideas through investigations, demonstrating critical understanding of sources
AO2 Creative making - Refine work by exploring ideas, selecting and experimenting with appropriate media, materials, techniques and processes.
AO3 Reflective recording - Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions as work progresses.
AO4 Personal presentation - Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language.
You will receive written and verbal feedback throughout the course as you develop your portfolios. Formative comments are matched against the four assessment criteria. Summative assessments will give you a grade and written feedback. You are encouraged to set and review personal targets in response to feedback during the development of your work. The body of coursework has a final grading at the end of the course. All four Assessment Objectives must be covered for each project.

What can this qualification lead to?

You could progress to further education courses at Level 3, for example

  • GCE A Level Photography

You could then progress to an Art Foundation course followed by one of the many art based degree courses for example Photography, Graphic Communication, Animation, Media Studies. When you seek employment your portfolio of work will also provide evidence of your ability to pursue a sustained two-year GCSE course that covers different assignments and requires you to produce a range of work independently.

 

Further information

www.eduqas.co.uk

www.thecreativeindustries.co.uk

www.prospects.ac.uk

Link to Specification:

https://www.eduqas.co.uk/media/ozvlit0g/eduqas-gcse-art-and-design-spec-from-2016-27-01-2020.pdf

"The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real."

Lucian Freud

Reflection (1985) Self Portrait - Lucian Freud                           Narcissus (1948) - Lucian Freud

 

"I've always wanted to create drama in my pictures, which is why I paint people. It's people who have brought drama to pictures from the beginning. The simplest human gestures tell stories."

Lucian Freud