Art & Design Year 10 & 11

The Personal Portfolio is an extended personal coursework project that enables learners to develop personal artwork, working progressively with more confidence and independence from a given starting point or theme.

The extended personal project always starts with students exploring the formal elements of Art in order to learn the foundations for success. They develop observational drawings based on a focus of their choice and detailed artist research and analysis in order to inform their ideas. Students then experiment with a wide range of ideas, media. Learners are encouraged to work in a more independent manner, developing personalized coursework and making decisions about the selection and use of materials. The creative journey culminates in the development of a final piece.

Techniques and media learners may experience include:

2D  –  Pencil, pencil crayon, fineliner, biro, ink, acrylic paint, watercolour paint, collage, mixed media, monoprint, press print, etching, collagraph printing

3D – Card relief, clay, ceramics, glass, wire, plaster work

Digital – Adobe Photoshop, digital photography, studio photography, film making, animation

The extended personal project equates to 60% of students overall GCSE marks.

Between September and December students develop personal styles, focusing on design ideas and consolidating their intentions. Students will use visual communication sensitively and thoughtfully to document their artistic journey and produce their creative outcomes in a 10 hour ‘Trial’ Exam experience.

This project makes up 60% of students overall GCSE Fine Art Mark

The Externally Set Assignment (ESA) represents the culmination of the GCSE course as it draws together all the knowledge, understanding and skills developed in the Personal Portfolio project. Students must present personal responses to an externally set broad-based thematic starting point, set by Edexcel in the ESA paper which is released on 2^nd  January each year. Students have to produce a preparatory portfolio covering contextual research, observational drawing and experimentation with media, materials, techniques and ideas culminating in the creation of final pieces during a 10-hour sustained focus period under examination conditions.

This project makes up 40% of students overall GCSE Fine Art Mark