Art
Art and Photography enjoys a prominent role at Camden School for Girls. Students and visitors to the school are met with a range of changing displays with corridors and rooms showing an impressive range of images. We aim to create a stimulating and exciting visual culture in the school.
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Curriculum Information
Year 7
Students are encouraged to be confident and versatile in their use of materials and techniques. For many it is their first opportunity to tackle art projects on a regular timetabled basis.
Students are taught in small groups of 22 - 24 and have a double lesson of one hour and twenty minutes per week. They explore formal elements of line, tone and colour, and work in three dimensions.
Topics focus on using these to comment on themselves and others, their environment and the work of other artists.
Year 8 and 9
Students build on this foundation with a continuation of the same curriculum time per week. Over the two years they study conventions of representing depth and perspective, light and tone, projects based on the work of artists across the world and work on analysing the media and popular culture.
Students continue to develop their command over a range of two and three dimensional media including printing and ceramic techniques. At the end of Year 9 students compile their portfolio of work in order to determine their final Key Stage 3 level. They receive guidance in pursuing the subject at GCSE and usually around half of students in Year 9 follow this route.
GCSE
We study the Pearson Edexcel Fine Art course. Students have two double lessons of one hour and twenty minutes per week.
They usually have two teachers, providing varied expertise and viewpoints.
Coursework is very important in Art GCSE and students are encouraged to finish and present work of high quality. A variety of coursework deadlines help students to monitor their progress over the course. Coursework accounts for 60% while the exam unit makes up the remaining 40% of the marks.
The popularity of Art at A level attracts large numbers and generates an exciting mix of talents, both Camden girls and students new to the Sixth Form, which stimulates a range of individual and creative work. The board used is Pearson Edexcel and we offer A levels in Fine Art, Photography and History of Art. Students work ambitiously in oil and acrylic, screen printing photography and three dimensional media. Many work directly from the figure during the year, attending our life drawing sessions. Every year about half of the final year cohort progress to study Art Foundation courses, mainly in London. The A Level course culminates in the end of year show at which every Fine Art and Photography student has their work displayed and we have a private view event.
The department has led many residential trips abroad, usually during Year 12, to cities such as Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin and Barcelona.