Art & Photography

Encompassing art, craft and design, photography, chemical darkroom and ceramics, whilst leading in the visual medium of digital technologies.

The Art and Photography department at Leeds West Academy is a vibrant and inspiring place to learn. Creativity is at our heart. The department compromises of a computer suite that support the full Adobe package and three practical art studios. We also have a chemical darkroom, printing press and kiln, allowing us to provide a rich and varied curriculum that covers fine art, photography, printmaking and ceramics.

Art follows the National Curriculum at KS3 and is taught to all students for 1 hour a week. Students have the opportunity to opt at the end of Year 9 for AQA GCSE Art and Design or AQA GCSE Photography, which they will study through Year 10 and 11 for 3 hours per week.

Through their studies, students will have the opportunity to experiment with a variety of materials, techniques and processes, learning to communicate their ideas visually. Students will create personal work in response to their own ideas and the work of other artists and designers.

For further information on the curriculum offered please contact the academy F.A.O Mrs R Nevison nevison.r@whiteroseacademies.org

Courses in Art

Key Stage 4

GCSE Art and Design (AQA)
GCSE Photography (AQA)

Key Stage 3 Art & Design Curriculum Breakdown

Year 7 – National Curriculum

Half Term	Topic	Learning Outcomes	Assessment
Term 1	Wonder	“Who we are,” he said, underlining each word as he said it. “Who we are! Us! Right? What kind of people are we? What kind of person are you? Isn’t that the most important thing of all? Isn’t that the kind of question we should be asking ourselves all the time? “What kind of Person am I?” Inspired by the themes in the book Wonder, we will be exploring identity and creating self-portraits that show the viewer who we are as people- our values, interests and personality. (AO4)	Tonal typography poster Wonder self-identity final outcome

Term 2	Sweets & Treats	The ‘Sweets and Treats’ project is designed to extend students’ knowledge about the elements of art and develop their ability to apply this in practice. Students will begin by developing their observational drawing skills focusing on line, shape, form, and tone. They will then explore composition by examining the work of artist Sarah Graham. This will lead into the production of a final piece where students will have the opportunity to create their own composition and experiment with application of colour and media.	Research Page Oil Pastel Final Outcome

Term 3	World Culture	This project will introduce students to art from Mexican culture, focussing on the traditional Day of the Dead festival. This will develop their understanding and awareness of cultural traditions. Students will immerse themselves in the imagery and patterns that give day of the dead a distinctive identity across the world, developing their drawing and experimenting skills. Students will explore symmetry, symbolic shape and design, culminating in a 3D relief sculptural final outcome.	Outcome: 3D Cardboard Relief Calavera

Year 8 – National Curriculum

Half Term	Topic	Learning Outcomes	Assessment
Term 1	Portraiture	In the first half term, over 3 lessons, students will firstly explore facial proportion, focusing on refining key features of the face and locating them in the correct place (AO3). Students will then go on, for 5 lessons, to look at the work of artist ‘David Hockney’ (AO1), looking at how he used the grid method to help complete his own self-portraits (AO3). In the second half term, students will aim to produce an A3 final piece consisting of a self-portrait (AO3, AO4). This will be completed over 5 lessons in sustained purple zone.	Research Page Drawing Outcome

Term 2	Bugs & Butterflies	This project will allow students to develop their drawing and painting skills. They will start by looking at famous entomologist and artist Eugene Seguy and create an artist research page, developing their layout and presentation skills. They will then go on to create a painting of beetles and butterflies in the style of Seguy.	Artist Research Page Painting Outcome

Term 3	Fantastic & Strange	‘Fantastic & Strange’ is an opportunity for students to explore their creativity and imagination whilst developing knowledge about the artistic movement Surrealism. The project will begin by exploring the surreal movement, including looking at and responding the work of key artists. Students will then design their own surreal creature, which will lead into the development of a final 3D outcome. At the end of this project, students will have and understanding of surrealism, experimented with a range of clay techniques and developed their design skills.	Observational Drawings 3D Clay Outcome

Key Stage 4 Art & Design Curriculum Breakdown

Year 9 – GCSE AQA ART & DESIGN

Half Term	Topic	Learning Outcomes	Assessment
Term 1	Drawing - Natural Forms	Through this project, students will investigate experimental drawing techniques, exploring line, tone, mark making and dimension. They will be encouraged to observe and record in a variety of ways from a range of primary and secondary sources. Students will have the opportunity to experiment with a wide variety of materials such as stick and ink, charcoal, pen and pencil. They will learn exciting new processes and techniques such as continuous line drawing and working from negative space. This project will provide students with a good knowledge base of a range of materials, techniques and processes and allow them to develop their drawing skills, independence and creativity.	Elements of Art 4 research sheets Karl Blossfledt Assessment Sustained Drawing

Term 2	Colour (Portraiture)	Through this project, students will investigate painting techniques, exploring colour, tone and texture. They will be encouraged to observe and record in a variety of ways from a range of primary and secondary sources. Students will have the opportunity to experiment with a variety of paints, including watercolour and acrylic, in addition to other materials like oil pastels and coloured pencils. This project will provide students with a good knowledge base of a range of materials, techniques and processes and allow them to develop their painting skills, independence and creativity.	3x Artist Sheets Sustained Painting

Term 3	3 Dimensional Design (Street Art)	Throughout this project students will investigate street art and political art. They will be encouraged to develop contextual links and critically analyse pieces and the meaning behind them. Students will have the opportunity to experiment with digital art, stencilling and 3D sculpting work. The project will ensure students have a good contextual understanding of art and the ability toto develop these ideas into further project ideas. Students will also gain knowledge of 3D techniques and materials which will allow them to widen their creativity and skill base.

Year 10 – GCSE AQA ART & DESIGN

Half Term	Topic	Learning Outcomes	Assessment
Term 1	Extended Project: Flora & Fauna	Students will meet the four assessment objectives through this extended project, making personal choices to explore the topic in their own way. The project will involve researching artists and working in their style, experimenting with a range of materials and techniques, recording observations and ideas through photography, drawing and annotation. Students will create a personal final response.	Mind map of ideas Mood board of images Research pages Experimentation Recording through photography, drawing and annotation Final Response
Term 2
Term 3

Year 11

Year 11 – GCSE AQA Art & Design

Half Term	Topic	Learning Outcomes	Assessment
Term 1	Satellite Project - Architecture and Spaces	Throughout this satellite project, students will meet the four assessment objectives by exploring the relationship between art and architecture. They will make personal investigations into the topic through research and response. The project will involve researching various architectural perspectives as well as exploring the application of detail/texture and how this can be achieved by looking at various artists styles and practicing their techniques. Their observations will be recorded through photographs, written analysis and drawings as they progress through the project. Students will create a personal final response based on the skills and techniques they have achieved throughout the course of the project.	Mind Map of ideas Research Pages Observational drawings of building perspectives Experimentation Recording through photography, drawings and written analysis Final response

Term 2	Externally Set Exam – Various Themes	Students will meet the four assessment objectives through the exam project on the question of their choice. The project will involve researching artists and working in their style, experimenting with a range of materials and techniques, recording observations and ideas through photography, drawing and annotation. They will create a personal final response in exam conditions over 10 hours.	Mind map of ideas Mood board of images Research pages Experimentation Recording through photography, drawing and annotation Final Response

Term 3

Key Stage 4 Photography Curriculum Breakdown

Year 9

Half Term	Topic	Learning Outcomes	Assessment
Term 1	Natural Forms	Students will grasp the fundamental concepts of Mac computers, file management and the Adobe suite. Students will meet the four assessment objectives through this project, researching a variety of Photographers and working in their style, exploring camera handling techniques, and experimenting with a range of processed and techniques.	Mind map of ideas Mood board of images Research pages Experimentation Recording through photography Final Response
Term 2	Natural Forms
Term 3	Photoshop and graphics editing	Throughout this term, students will investigate a range of Photoshop artists and use the researched techniques to manipulate their own photographs. Students will begin to develop their photoshop skills and apply an experimental style of editing. Within the project, students will meet all four assessment objectives, researching a variety of photographers and working in their style, exploring camera handling techniques, and experimenting with a range of processes and techniques.	Research pages Experimentation Final Response

Year 10

Half Term	Topic	Learning Outcomes	Assessment
Term 1	Physical Photography	Students will focus on the exploration of assessment objective 2, investigating ways to manipulate and display printed photographs. The project will involve researching various photographers and craftspeople and working in their style and experimenting with a range of materials and techniques.	Research pages Physical experimentation Recording through drawing Final Response
Term 2	Extended Personal Project	Students will meet the four assessment objectives through this extended project, making personal choices to explore a topic area of their choice. The project will involve researching photographers and working in their style, experimenting with a range of materials and techniques, recording observations and insights as ideas progress. Students will create a personal final response.	Mind map of ideas Mood board of images Research pages Experimentation Recording through photography Final Response
Term 3	Extended Personal Project

Year 11

Half Term	Topic	Learning Outcomes	Assessment
Term 1	Extended Personal Project (continued)	Students will meet the four assessment objectives through this extended project, making personal choices to explore a topic area of their choice. The project will involve researching photographers and working in their style, experimenting with a range of materials and techniques, recording observations and insights as ideas progress. Students will create a personal final response.	Mind map of ideas Mood board of images Research pages Experimentation Recording through photography Final Response
Term 2	Externally Set Exam – Various Themes	Students will meet the four assessment objectives through the exam project on a question of their choice. The project will involve researching Photographers and working in their style, experimenting with a range of materials and techniques, recording observations and insights as ideas progress. They will create a personal final response in exam conditions over 10 hours.	Mind map of ideas Mood board of images Research pages Experimentation Recording through photography Final Response
Term 3	Externally Set Exam – Various Themes