Art and Photography
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Philosophy
Wildern Art department is a thriving and lively department, which has a long-standing history of exceptional results gained through high-quality creative teaching and a wealth of talented students. The Art Staff consists of three members of teaching staff and one Art technician, with varied Art Degrees, specialisms and skills. Student artwork is of an exquisitely high standard and displayed around the school site, the Wildern Art Department students consistently win and contribute to local and national art and photography competitions.
Our Vision & Motto: "Every child is an artist. Our mission is to provide the canvas, the tools, and the inspiration to turn imagination into reality." We envision a department where risk-taking is celebrated, individuality is championed, and every student develops a lifelong appreciation for visual communication.
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KS3
Our KS3 curriculum is designed to ignite curiosity and build a robust foundation of technical skills. We focus on developing the "Visual Language" of art, ensuring students move from exploration to mastery.
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Our Intent: To foster creative independence, critical thinking, and cultural awareness through a diverse, skills-rich curriculum.
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The Learning Journey: Students progress from fundamental drawing and color theory in Year 7, through cultural and contextual projects in Year 8.
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Assessment: Students are assessed using Wildern Steps and also via a baseline test at the start of year 7, and an end of Key Stage 3 Assessment Project. Students have high-quality sketchbooks to complete class work and all Self Study tasks in; these are regularly marked and timely feedback is given.
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KS4
At Key Stage 4, students deepen their practice and specialise in their artistic endeavors. At KS4 Art and Photography students are taught once again in mixed ability classes; the AQA exam board is used and students are introduced to the four Assessment Criteria from the start of the GCSE course.
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Component 1 (Portfolio - 60%): A sustained project and a selection of further work showcasing skills in drawing, painting, printmaking, and three-dimensional design. Typical themes include Natural Forms, Fragments, and Structures.
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Component 2 (Externally Set Assignment - 40%): Students respond to a chosen starting point from the AQA exam paper, culminating in a 10-hour supervised practical exam.
Students' enjoyment and understanding of the observed world is enhanced through engaging in Art, Photography and Design, and the inner worlds of feelings, imagination, reason and practical thinking are explored. We place great emphasis on the need to have visual literacy at KS4 level. Visual images enter everyone's life through mass and social media, they carry information and ideas within popular culture, and they are the vehicle for an exploration by artists and designers of the most complex human ideas. It is important that each generation understands the origins and purposes behind the art and artifacts of its own time, and measures them against works from the past and other contemporary cultures. Students who are visually literate gain more control over their own work and are better able to understand, enjoy and discriminate between the images and objects that appear both in the familiar environments of home and neighbourhood, and in less familiar places, such as galleries and museums.
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Facilities
We pride ourselves on offering a professional studio environment where students can experiment with a wide range of media; it has three large dedicated Art rooms which are all fully equipped. One classroom hosts the Kiln room, where two kilns are in constant use, all classrooms are used for the teaching of clay. Ceramic is taught at KS3 and 4 alongside drawing, painting, printing, 3D work, art textiles, photography etc. Each of the art rooms are equipped with PC’s connected to the school system.
Trips
Art at Wildern extends far beyond the classroom walls. We believe that experiencing art in the real world is vital for creative growth. Regular visits to major galleries including Tate Modern, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and local university degree shows are an important part of our curriculum to inspire students’ curiosity, creativity and imagination. We provide weekly Art and Photography clubs which offer open-studio time, portfolio building for further education, and specialised workshops like ceramics and digital manipulation. Alongside this, we encourage regular participation in local community murals, collaborative exhibitions, and national youth art competitions.
Co-Curricular
Opportunities beyond the classroom have been established over a long period of time, with cross curricular and enrichment projects at KS3/4, the importance of being a Global Citizen is explored through SMSC discussions of artists and artwork and their impact locally, nationally and internationally, the concept of Life Long Learners is modelled by teaching staff and disseminated to students.
Click on the link below to see examples of student work at Wildern.