Art and Design is an exciting and progressive department at Queen Anne’s School, committed to promoting students who have a passion and commitment to the subject. Many students continue their Art and Design studies at universities, both in the UK and abroad. The excellent facilities in the Elliot Art and Design Building include an animation studio, a ceramic studio, a plaster/resin room, a kiln room, a textiles studio, a machine workshop, a lecture theatre, large, practical classrooms, and an individual A Level studio.
Every year Queen Anne’s Art students enter the Royal Academy’s Young Artists’ Summer Show where they have been very successful. The school also takes part in the annual Foundation Schools’ Art Exhibition in a gallery in London.
The extensive curriculum is complemented by the opportunity for students to attend a variety of art clubs where they can improve their practical skills, complete coursework assignments, or just enjoy being part of a creative environment. Students can enjoy learning new skills such as Animated Filmmaking, Ceramics, Digital Art, Life Drawing, Textiles Design and Printmaking. Art Scholars follow a dedicated programme of extra-curricular practical activities as well as attending lectures by contemporary artists.
Art and design at Queen Anne’s provides all students with a broader understanding and experience in art and design techniques; raises awareness of the art historical context in which they work; develops progressive recording and painting techniques, and skills in designing and working in three-dimensional Art. We are passionate about, and committed to our roles as educators and encouragers, and this year we focus on art involving gender equality, on ethnically cultural art, as well as political art.
The Art and Design curriculum is complemented by the opportunity to attend a variety of art clubs where students can improve their practical skills, complete coursework assignments or just enjoy being in a creative environment. Students can enjoy learning how to make ceramics, lino prints, animated films and textile pieces. Art clubs are also offered as part of the Saturday Morning Programme.
Our aim is to enable the students to discover and develop their creative skills throughout the lower years at Queen Anne’s.
L4 (Year 7)Students will work around the theme of art history and their understanding of the work of European artists. They will produce work at the end of each term to reflect this theme. They will also learn about general artistic principles including: drawing, mark making; using acrylic paint; chiaroscuro, designing, analysing and reflecting upon their work. All students work in a dedicated Art sketchbook.
Work in the 4s is based around the theme of non-European art. Students will study Art from a variety of countries including Australia, Mexico and Japan, and produce final pieces each term in different media. Students will also be able to enforce what they have learned in their first year in art.
The U4 curriculum theme is to explore alternative media and produce final pieces that reflect creativity, imagination and skill. This will offer a broader range of opportunities than before, as well as prepare students for examination courses later on in the school.
The relationship between artists/designers and theme based outcomes, allows all students to cover an important foundation in their knowledge of art.
Students will also have the opportunity to undertake group work, which challenges design and making skills, practical problem solving, leadership and teamwork. They will also be able to experience a variety of new techniques and processes.
The academic and author Edward de Bono said ‘Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting’.
The art department at Queen Anne’s believes that creativity exists in everybody and that it is an essential part of an individual’s success. This belief is not only acknowledged by academics worldwide but is also included as one of the school’s main values.
We encourage students to think outside of the box and to encounter new and unexpected experiences during their art lessons. This notion of being able to think differently in order to solve a problem is central to our innovative teaching and to the delivery of the subject.
Students are stretched in their use of materials, questioned about their understanding of artists and other cultures as well as encouraged to produce work that is both highly original and skilful. As a result, students quickly become independent learners who are confident in taking risks and expressing aspects of the world in which they live. Naturally, this has a significant impact in their work not only in art, but also within their other subjects.
The teachers in the art department are not only passionate about art education but are also practising artists themselves working in a variety of specialisms. This experience and understanding of making art is passed on to students during every lesson enabling them to be enriched and stimulated by the process of creativity.
The GCSE course is well established at Queen Anne’s. We follow the Edexcel syllabus. L5 students embark upon a mini art foundation course where they re-visit skills they have already learned as well as practice new ones. Students produce two outcomes during the year which go towards their GCSE coursework grade (60% of their total grade).
During U5, the emphasis is on students to be more imaginative and experimental in their work, again producing two pieces of work which count towards their coursework. The GCSE exam (40% of the total grade) is usually taken after the Easter break and students will have worked on their ideas for at least eight weeks beforehand. A small exhibition is mounted in school featuring the work of selected students who are externally moderated by the exam board.
Art and Design at this level is a challenging but rewarding subject that combines the intellectual with the practical and requires a high level of energy and commitment. There is a lot of fun amidst the independent thinking and the creative effort. This is an essential subject for those wishing to pursue a career in any of the creative industries.
Students will be entered on to the new two-year linear A Level in Art & Design (unendorsed). This will allow them to follow their own areas of interest.
Unit 1 In Fine Art, L6 students are introduced to three new areas of media - printmaking, textiles and the creative use of paper. Students work in sketchbooks and examine the work of others through written and visual analysis, experimenting with materials, processes and developing expressive techniques and ways of responding. Students produce personal responses to a given theme, which expands techniques and processes gained from class exercises into personal visual work.
U6 students work exclusively on their own area of interest. Students also produce a written piece of work which reflects their practical outcome. This unit is worth 60% of the total A Level grade.
Unit 2 is an externally set unit based on a broad externally set theme, undertaken at the end of an extensive and intensive two to three months’ preparatory period of research and visual development studies. This unit is worth 40% of the A Level grade.
Studying art can lead to a wide range of university degree courses
| Architecture | Interior Design |
| Interior Decoration | Surface Design |
| Fashion | Exhibition Design |
| Textiles | Photography |
| Glass | Film, Video and Television |
| Ceramics | Animation |
| Illustration Graphics | Product DESIGN |
| Furniture Design | Fine Art |
| Community Arts |
The focus for Stretch & Challenge students in the Art Department are those who are original and independent thinkers; who are able to synthesise information effectively; make connections between their own work and that of others; as well as between other topics, subjects and cultures. Students may well demonstrate an increased pace of learning and will show an exceptional level of technical skill and understanding, producing expressive, original and creative outcomes.
The Stretch & Challenge student may show outstanding commitment to the subject by attending art clubs inside and outside of school, visiting galleries and creating their own artworks.