Art And Design Curriculum KS3

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see" (Edgar Degas)

In KS3 Art is compulsory and the Art & Design course is delivered in one lesson per week. Art & Design is composed of a broad curriculum aimed at developing the students' skills and techniques while increasing their understanding and awareness of Art. Students study the disciplines of drawing, painting, printing, 3D work, photography and textiles.

Our Key Stage Three Curriculum is based upon the building blocks of Art composition, known as the Formal Elements of Art e.g. line, shape, form, texture, pattern, tone and colour. These elements are linked to everything we see and do. Students are taught to develop their creativity and ideas and increase their proficiency in their execution. They develop a critical understanding of artists, architects and designers, expressing reasoned judgements that can inform their own design work.

Students are encouraged to engage in their learning using their prior experience of art whilst developing their understanding of visual literacy, art, craft, design and how these have been influenced by cultures and movements over time. Modern, traditional and ancient art works are embedded into our curriculum across both Key Stages and within all projects.

Our project themes aim to engage all and enable students to develop a passion for the subject of Art as well as connecting students to their world and cultural history, gaining new ways of seeing, thinking, doing & being. We envision this early stage to be fun and engaging for young, enquiring minds and at the end of Year 9 students can consider Art & Design as an GCSE option.

Project 1 - Formal elements and natural form

Our Formal Elements & Natural Form topic is a traditional Art & Design plan that covers the specific formal elements and drawing techniques. Through practice and repetition students engage in a range of drawing activities to gain confidence in line, shape, pattern, form, tone and texture. They learn how to shade using traditional methods like cross-hatching with pencil but also modern techniques using drawing apps to produce homework.

Our Formal elements & Natural Form topic is a traditional Art & Design plan that covers the specific formal elements and drawing techniques each week. Through practice and repetition students draw beautiful examples of shells from around the world each lesson and gain confidence in line, form, tone and texture. They learn how to shade using traditional methods like cross-hatching with pencil but also modern techniques using drawing apps to produce homework.

Project 2 - Art appreciation

In our new Art Appreciation topic, we have created a whistle stop tour of Art History from ancient cave art to the 20th Century explosion of movements. The intent is to develop students' cultural capital as well as to give them the basis for developing their own ideas for future artwork. Within this topic students create a series of mini outcomes based on each era utilising their knowledge of the formal elements from their prior learning.

Project 1 - Portrait techniques

During this topic students will gain an understanding of drawing portraits and developing their knowledge of visual language. Students will develop confidence in their proficiency to draw complex shapes of the human face. Students practice complex themes of portraits as it is a popular theme many like to pursue in Key Stage 4 and beyond.

Students will continue to evaluate the work of others and their own. During this topic students will develop their execution of tone to become more precise and confident in how to blend pencils tones together and create collages. They will focus on proportions and drawing realistic faces and features.

Project 2 - 20th century portraiture

Students will build on their prior knowledge of art history from Year 7 where they learned about the development of art through the ages. This topic will focus on the explosion of artistic movements during the 20th Century such as Impressionism, Cubism, Expressionism, Surrealism and Pop Art.

Students will gain an understanding of famous artists such as Picasso, but will also learn about other lesser-known female artists; artists of colour and artists with disabilities, ensuring that their education is broad and source material is varied. Students will use practical drawing skills learned in Year 7 and in Project 1 and develop knowledge around the formal elements of line, shape, tone and proportion to create a series of mini outcomes based on portraits. The intent is also for students to have more exposure to a wider range of practical tools and materials.

Project 3 - 21st century street art

In the last term of Year 8 students learn about contemporary street art from around the world. They will have a good understanding of how art has developed through the ages. As they begin their final project they should have a greater appreciation of how art has arrived at it current point.

They will study the work of local artists like Frank Styles and a range of artists from different countries. Students will make comparisons to early forms of cave art and the development of modern streets art from 1970s New York.

They will deepen their understanding of colour theory by using the colour wheel as a tool to select colour combinations for their work. In their outcomes students will produce decorated letters and words to promote messages of positivity and inclusion as well as letters of their name to express ideas of identity.

Project 1 - 3D clay project

To expand students' experience in a variety of skills and techniques, in Year 9 they get the opportunity to work with 3D forms. In project 1 they build on their knowledge from Year 8 on how to present artist research. They study the sculptural work of Barbra Hepworth and they design and create a 3D ceramic piece in the style of the artist.

Project 2 - 3D clay project

Students will be working to the theme of 'Op Art. During this topic student's will closely look at the work of Victor Vasarely & Bridget Riley. The project will begin by guiding students through optical art illusions inspired by the named artists. Students will create outcomes both in monochrome and in colour whilst studying and learning more about the colour wheel.

Students will also develop their understanding of how an art outcome can be given a context within the area of fashion. Students will then develop their ideas into a 3-dimensional outcome which will connect to their next topic of architecture, where students will combine the theme of Op Art into architectural design. Students will also create artists' pages & responses in a personalised way. They will be expected to annotate their work throughout their sketchbook, explaining their intentions & justifications behind their work.

Project 3 - Architecture

Students will transform their design work from the previous 'Op Art' project into architectural building layouts. Students will have the opportunity to work both 2D and 3D during this project. Students will also take inspiration from buildings in the local area to develop their own building designs. Students will develop a deeper understanding on how art and architecture connect and what job roles are available in this field.