VISUAL ARTS AT DEPTFORD GREEN SCHOOL

Context

Deptford Green School Visual Arts Department has facilities for painting and drawing, printmaking, digital photography, textile arts and ceramics. We have three specialist rooms and an exhibition space / workshop. The ‘ARTSPACE’ has a kiln room and professional printing press for specialist techniques. The textiles room has 25 sewing machines for student use, a heat press and a digital printer for fabric.

The department is well equipped, and we aim to encourage and facilitate projects that are ambitious, individual, and technically accomplished. Students thrive in a vibrant, diverse and inspirational working environment, where their creative energies can be realised. Many visual art students progress and perform beyond expectations.

We aim to maintain a high academic profile both inside and outside the classroom by means of participation in whole school events for parents, students and staff. We reach out to the community, exhibiting in local businesses and public spaces. We hold an annual event using ‘ARTSPACE’, exhibiting an extensive range of outcomes, across key stages, from our student artists and designers.

Classroom Activities and Enrichment

Students are expected to work to their highest ability at all times and always put in a lot of effort, as a coursework based exam this is vital as all the work you do counts. Our approach to teaching and learning centres around developing these key skills: problem solving, reflection and evaluation. For each project we encourage a personal response from students, exploring the work of many makers and using their own cultural experiences as a means of expression.

The department always encourages an individual and personal approach to building a portfolio of work. First-hand experience of subject matter is achieved through observational studies or photography. Ideas are developed further using a combination of media such as pastels, charcoal, crayon, watercolour, collage and other experimental techniques. We have access to computers for students to use basic editing software, if required, and for organising work outcomes. All students will record the majority of the creative process in sketchbooks that they need to keep up to date and present as evidence to the exam board a the end of the course.

KS3

At KS3, students study fine art and textiles as an integrated KS3 course. They are encouraged to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of art and design. The curriculum structure builds on key ideas, concepts , skills and knowledge to enable progression through understanding and making connections. Students will observe and investigate, explore and create, evaluate and develop. Self-expression and a personal approach is encouraged although a focus on knowledge and skills develops independence in KS4. 

KS4

The visual arts currently offer three endorsed courses: ART AND DESIGN–FINE ART and ART AND DESIGN-TEXTILES and ART AND DESIGN- PHOTOGRAPHY. All courses are visual and creative subjects which allow students to learn about the work of contemporary and historic artist and designers, relating their knowledge to the development of their own skills as artists.

Students will have studied fine art and textile arts as an integrated course at KS3 and would have experienced a wide range of techniques and processes. Most personal interests and skill sets can be explored and developed on this examination course and students will be rewarded for what they know, what they understand and what they can demonstrate.

The courses are designed to cover four areas for the critical, practical and theoretical study of art craft and design. Students are awarded marks for:

We aim to create a lively and active learning environment that is able to cater for the needs of all students. The displays of student outcomes, the use of resourced based stimuli and an ‘open door policy’ create learning spaces where students are encouraged to experiment and explore themes and ideas.