A Level Art & Design: Fine Art

By choosing to study Art and Design at A level you are taking the first exciting step towards a career in the creative industries, the largest industries in the UK, which contributed £109 billion to the UK economy in 2021! Art and Design enables us to connect with the world across countries and cultures. The world adapts and changes on a daily basis, being visually aware improves our ability to decipher and decode the visual imagery we are bombarded with, enabling us to relate to a wider audience.

Working with a broad range of media exploring the visual elements of art, as an art and design student you develop confidence, competence, imagination and creativity. Art provides you with valuable opportunities to develop your experimental, analytical and documenting skills and your understanding of art, craft and design in history and in contemporary society. Art allows you to explore and cultivate fundamental skills, knowledge and understanding through a variety of experiences; including using sources, such as the local environment, gallery visits or workshops to gather visually rich research which support your in-depth investigations. During the course you will be encouraged to experiment, collaborate, make informed creative decisions and innovate. The artistic process encourages reflection and critical judgements of your work and that of other artists; these are valuable skills which can be applied to other subject areas and future employment.

You will be required to develop independence of mind in developing, refining and communicating your ideas, intentions and your personal outcomes. You should have an interest in, enthusiasm for and enjoyment of art, craft and design and a willingness to experience working with a broad range of materials and to investigate and engage with art, craft, design and cultures in contemporary and past societies.

The course is made up of two components:

Component 1: Personal Investigation (60% of A level 120 marks)

The Personal Investigation consists of two integrated parts:

1. Your practical portfolio - a major in-depth critical, practical and theoretical investigative project/outcome/s based on themes and subject matter that have personal significance

2. Your personal study - an extended written element of 1000 words minimum, which may contain images and texts and must clearly relate to practical and theoretical work using an appropriate working vocabulary and specialist terminology.

- extended written, critical, contextual and analytical material can take a variety of forms, such as a personal study, an illustrated essay, a digital presentation or blog, illustrated study sheets, a written report, a journal, an article or review and should reflect upon your work and that of other practitioners.

- both the practical/theoretical work and the written element will be assessed together using the assessment objectives. You will be required to select, evaluate and present your work for assessment.

- the personal investigation theme will be determined by you and your teacher, assessed by the teacher and externally moderated.

Component 2 Externally Set Assignment (40% of A level – 80 marks)

The Externally Set Assignment consists of two parts:

Part 1: Preparatory study period

- The externally set assignment materials are released from 1 February (in the second year of the course) and will consist of a series of visual and written stimuli, which are presented to you at the start of the preparatory study period.

- You select one of the stimuli and use it as a starting point from which to elicit a personal response.

- Responses are developed during the preparatory study period. They should take the form of critical, practical and theoretical preparatory work/supporting studies which inform the resolution of ideas in the 15 hours sustained focus study.

- The preparatory study period is from the release of the externally set assignment materials until the start of the sustained focus work.

Part 2: 15 hour period of sustained focus work

- You will create your final ideas from the preparatory work during the designated 15 hours exam time and they must show how your planning relates to the outcome/s.

- The period of sustained focus work must be completed under supervised conditions.

- Both the preparatory work and sustained focus work will be assessed together, using the assessment objectives.

- You will be required to select, evaluate and present your work for assessment.

- The Externally Set Assignment will be set by WJEC, assessed by the teacher and externally moderated.

How you will be assessed

All your work will be assessed against the following equally weighted Assessment Objectives.

AO1

Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.

AO2

Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.

AO3

Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.

AO4

Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.

When working on Component 1 and 2 you will receive booklets with weekly set tasks for class and homework. The set tasks are designed to ensure your work addresses different aspects of the four assessment criteria, this will establish a clear understanding of how to develop your work independently and work successfully, it also allows you to develop your own ideas individually within the general class set theme. Your teachers will set individual weekly/bi-weekly personalised targets (negotiated with you) related to your chosen themes focusing on how you could progress and the best way to develop work to meet the higher levels of the assessment criteria. At certain points throughout the course your work will be assessed against some or all of the assessment criteria, you will receive written feedback regarding the strengths in your work and areas for development.

The Externally Set Assignment is released in January (AS level) and February (A level). The paper consists of an externally set theme, suggested starting points and contextual references from which you can develop your preparatory studies leading up to the Timed Test in exam conditions when you will produce the artwork/s which represent the culmination of your preparatory investigations.

Grade 4 or above in GCSE Art & Design or another creative subject where a portfolio of practical evidence is available to show to the Art Department for consideration.

A level Art & Design: Fine Art can be studied alongside A Level Photography.

You can progress from this qualification to further education courses such as the BTEC Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (QCF) or direct to a BA Honours degree with an art and design focus.

Previous students who have studied A level Art at St. Peter’s have gone on to study the Art Foundation course at CRC, followed by degrees in Animation, Illustration, Architecture, Textile Design, Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Fine Art and Photography.

You may wish to seek an apprenticeships or other training or employment in one of the many related sectors for example Commercial printing, CAD technician, Museum/Gallery assistant or Web design.