The aim of the Art and Design Department is to encourage students to look at, become aware of and appreciate the world in which they live. This aim will be realised through both practical work and art appreciation.

Throughout all our courses, emphasis is placed on gaining information from direct observation. Using observation as a starting point, students are then encouraged to develop their ideas in a wide range of materials and processes; digital, relief/sculpture, collage, painting, printmaking, etc.

Students will also be required to view and respond to the works of artists, craftspeople and designers from different ages and cultures. Students will be encouraged to find practical links between the works that they see and their own work, annotating any findings.

We aim to ensure that, during their Key Stage 3 Art lessons, students will not only acquire practical, key skills for successful use in GCSE and A-Level examinations but also a more lasting enjoyment of the subject, an appreciation of the wide world of art and design and an understanding of its role and importance within the realm of the "Arts" as a whole and how it can positively impact and become transferrable across the curriculum.