Dedicated specialist staff, from Years 3 to 8, lead highly structured lessons, where basic skills are taught and developed, so that pupils will have the confidence and creative ability to progress. We aim to instil a joy and passion for drawing, painting and three-dimensional work in an environment where pupils have an opportunity to extend their learning through their own ideas.
Observational drawings, painting, printing, mixed media, pottery and sculpture are the foundations of a sound and inspiring curriculum. Pupils gradually learn how to improve the quality of their work and to make their own intelligent and informed decisions about how to move forward. They are supported to develop their own expression and responses, to learn from studying the work of established artists and are encouraged to believe in themselves.
Talented and especially motivated pupils, who show a real passion for the subject, attend an extra class in the Summer Term of Year 7 and Autumn & Spring Terms of Year 8, where they are encouraged to work more independently and to develop their own ideas. Over the 2 to 3 terms, portfolios and sketchbooks are created to submit to schools for scholarship interviews, which are during the Spring Term of Year 8. In recent years, our pupils have gone on to achieve art scholarships and awards to Radley College, Marlborough College, Shrewsbury, Stowe, Bedales, Cheltenham College, Dean Close, St Helen & St Katharine, St
Edward’s, Oxford, Milton Abbey, and Monkton Combe.
