Who is the course for? This course successfully prepares students for direct entry onto an Art Foundation Course and a range of Art related Degree courses such as Architecture, Engineering, Photography, Graphic Design, Fine Art, Fashion and Printmaking. Several Students each year choose to undertake Art-related further education and gain places on highly competitive Art Found and Art degree courses. This course focuses on Fine Art skills, but is directly relevant to careers in architecture, illustration, product design, graphic design and fashion. Creativity encourages and promotes independent thinking and can complement more academic studies. Visits to London galleries are offered on this course along with opportunities to experience cultural destinations abroad. Enthusiasm, good drawing ability and the resourcefulness to work independently are important qualities for students to be successful. What you’ll learn: The A level Art course enables students to expand and refine their thinking and work as individual artists. Students build and further develop their formal skills and their use of media from KS4, pushing their abilities and concepts through extended experimentation and artist analysis. Projects are personalised to our students’ interests. In the first year of the course students complete one project and create a large portfolio of work towards coursework. Guidance is always available. Either the first-year project, or a brand-new theme, can form the start of the Y13 unit, submitted at the end of the second year. Students are required to produce an essay based on a personal investigation theme. This is a critical and visual appraisal or theoretical study of any aspect of the visual arts. A preparatory period is followed by a 15- hour exam in which to produce personalised outcomes. Unit 2: Art and Design Externally Set Assignment: Students should submit supporting studies and practical outcome(s) in response to the given theme. The externally set paper will be available to centre staff during January of each year as a paper copy and through the secure content section of the website. The timed element of twelve (15) hours is carried out under controlled conditions at any time at the centre’s discretion after the papers are released to students. All Units are assessed in school and verified through external moderation. What subjects this goes well with: History, English Literature, Psychology, Biology, Politics, Sociology How you’ll learn: Students studying Art enjoy accompanied visits to galleries and museums. Site visits are also undertaken to support students in gathering first hand resources. Every year Sydney Russell students have the chance to visit a major European city, such as Rome, Athens, Madrid, Florence and Barcelona, during the Spring half term. The trip is an extremely popular cultural experience that takes in many of the cities’ fine art galleries. It is a fantastic opportunity for A level Art and Design students. It is also a real highlight of many students’ time at Sydney Russell School. What you can do next Next steps can include joining a one-year foundation course at a local college, or moving straight onto a more specialised degree course such as Fine Art, Fashion/Textiles/Costume Design, Illustration, Games Design, 3D Design, Jewellery Design, Graphic Communication, Interior Design, Architecture, Theatre Studies and Museum Studies. The UK Creative Industries offer a wealth of interesting career opportunities for students who study Art at A-level. This qualification is also valuable for primary teaching and for therapeutic roles in healthcare such as art therapy and occupational therapy. There are apprenticeship opportunities for roles within the creative industries including in specialist crafts, design, digital design and photography. Transferable skills including creative flair, imagination, critical analysis, problem solving and specialist IT skills can be put to use in a wide range on non-art related careers. What you can do to prepare for the course: You choose your own independent theme, choose a broad word as it will be your theme for this year and the start of next. Buy an A3 sketchbook with good quality paper (140+ gsm). Title page with your chosen theme title. Visual collection of images of artwork/ photography or other media sources that relate to your chosen theme – show us what you are interested in Synopsis – Please type up why you have chosen your theme, think outside the box.