Year 7 students have just finished a project on Futurism, an art movement which began and ended around WW1. The project allowed the students to explore speed of movement and colour using oil pastels. The group have now started looking at Frederick Hundertwasser, an architect and painter who used colour and landscapes in his works. He believed that we have three layers, our skin, our clothes and where we live. The students are now working towards a final piece that will incorporate a building and face before moving on to study Picasso and Cubism.

Year 8 students have been exploring elements of WW2 and the holocaust. They are currently looking at Henry Moore’s tunnel drawings and are exploring how he uses marks to create shapes. Students are focusing on composition; the foreground, midground and background. They will then go on to explore portraits from the holocaust, which left a legacy of the people who died.

Year 9 students are currently creating stamp designs relating to Shakespeare. Some have produced portraits whilst others have focused on elements from his plays.  They are producing the project in the format of a piece of GCSE coursework piece to prepare them for Year 10 next year. They will learn key skills about mounting work for display and how to writing for the marks scheme.

Year 10 students are producing their GCSE coursework at the moment as part of their Unit 1 project, which is worth 60% of their GCSE and will carrying on into Year 11. Students are working on a range of different pieces of work which vary depending on the title they have chosen. Projects include looking at WW2 soldiers and war art, relationships, photorealism, surrealist portraiture and their surroundings.

Year 11 students have just finished their coursework, which they choose one of three briefs: black and white, layers or the human figure. They had to research images and artists relating to the brief and develop ideas for their final piece. The students are now starting to prepare for their exam projects.

Art Teacher Mrs Morgan said: ‘In the Art Department we try to expose the students to many different techniques and artist so they can find their own style and media that suits them. We also largely focus on developing students understanding of the different elements in art, why art is used and how the artist tells a story or belief. Behind the style and technique they use is a story and reason for doing so.

‘We are seeing some really high quality pieces of work from the students who are gaining an increased confidence to become more experimental in their work and incorporate different media. Year 11 have been given some really exciting exam briefs this year so I am very excited to see the end results of what our students produce in April when their exam takes place.’