What will I study?
A Level Fine Art provides an exciting opportunity for students to develop their identity as a creative practitioner through exploration of a range skills such as painting and drawing, printmaking, sculpture and lens-based image making / installation. Students are encouraged to explore personal and meaningful ideas through a range of creative practices to develop a portfolio of work that embeds the skills required for a future in creative careers. The course requires students to make in-depth personal and imaginative responses to a chosen theme and has a strong academic element through the critical evaluation of the work of artists. Students learn how to develop ideas in response to contextual studies through exploration of media, techniques and processes.
This course consists of two components.
• Component 1:
Personal Investigation (60%)
The coursework includes a ‘Personal Investigation’ through sketchbooks and outcomes, and a written ‘Personal Study’.
• Component 2:
Externally Set Assignment (40%)
The examination includes sketchbooks and outcomes completed from January to April with a 15 hour exam to produce final outcomes.
Both components involve creative problem solving which requires students to undertake investigative and research work in addition to experimental exploration, looking at alternative ways of finding a solution. Sketchbook work needs to be informed, purposeful and extensive. Students must work with independence carrying out in-depth research from a range of primary sources, critiquing and referencing their experimentation before developing their final responses. The independent and open nature of work is demanding. Therefore, students must be prepared to be committed, self-motivated, and innovative risk takers.
Where will it lead?
This course enables students to move on to a wide range of Art and Design courses at Foundation and Degree level e.g. Fine Art, Textiles, Interior and Graphic Design, or a combination of Art with English, Journalism, Drama and Set Design. An Art & Design portfolio is a requirement for most Architecture courses and useful for any qualifications involving technical drawing. The creativity, problem-solving skills and personal resilience that students develop through completing this course are highly sought after across many sectors.
Links with other courses
Art and Design: Fine Art is complementary to most subjects but in particular; Media, Film Studies, Classical Civilisation, English, Psychology, History, Drama, Graphics, Textiles and Photography.
