Our art curriculum is designed to nurture creativity, develop technical skills, and encourage students to explore a wide range of artistic influences. Throughout the course, students will engage with both traditional and contemporary art forms, learning about key artists and movements while experimenting with different media and techniques. The KS3 course offers a broad, balanced curriculum in areas of Painting and Drawing, Graphics and 3D work, with some ICT. Students will be encouraged to engage critically with the work of others (artists and peers alike) and to demonstrate and develop their visual literacy through discussion and writing activities. 

In Year 7, you’ll dive into the exciting building blocks of art – known as the formal elements! You’ll explore line, shape, form, texture, colour, and composition. But this isn’t just theory – you’ll be creating lots of hands-on artwork to help you understand how artists make work look powerful, expressive, and exciting. 

You’ll also study amazing artists like Vincent van Gogh, discovering that he used bold colour, energetic brushstrokes and amazing texture.

Then you’ll take inspiration from his style and create your own artwork influenced by his techniques. 

Year 8 is all about getting creative and experimenting with ideas! You’ll explore patterns and repeated designs. How artists use rhythm and decoration in their work. You’ll also look at exciting contemporary artists like Sarah Graham, who turns colourful sweets into detailed, eye-catching artworks. Then things get even more exciting as you explore The Ocean. You’ll be inspired by sea creatures’ underwater textures, marine environments.

 

 

And use these ideas to create your own 3D and imaginative artworks. 

Year 9 is where your skills really start to come together and your confidence grows! You’ll work on: Portraiture – learning how to draw and paint the human face and figure New techniques for capturing expression and personality. Then you’ll move into some really creative and unusual themes like Minerals and Fungi.  These projects include fun workshops where you can experiment, take risks, and develop your own artistic style. 

By the end of Year 9, you’ll be working more independently and preparing for GCSE-level art thinking. 

This diverse and comprehensive curriculum fosters creativity, critical thinking, and technical skill development, ensuring students leave with a deeper appreciation for art and a strong foundation in artistic practice.