S1 and S2 Art & Design

AIMS OF COURSE

It is our aim to pursue the ideals of: Breadth, Balance, Continuity and Progression in terms of the individual pupil’s development of conceptual thinking and understanding of skills and art processes.

It is the aim of the department and the responsibility of the individual teacher to create coursework that is stimulating and correctly targeted to the ability level of every pupil.  It is our creative challenge to combine the many key contexts with the subject strands, in order to affect better Learning and Teaching.

We aim to provide all pupils with opportunities to become more aware of the environment and their relationship to it.

COURSE CONTENT

The course runs as a continuum from S1 through S2.  The pupil’s expression of feelings, ideas, thoughts and solutions permeate the course and are expressed through the Creating and Designing and Communicating strands.  S1 pupils attend the department twice a week and S2 pupils attend once.

S1 Course

Every unit of work has a creative outcome therefore the S1 course covers the Creating, Designing and Communicating strands but the focus for the teacher is on the learning acquired by the pupils on their way towards the series of outcomes.  The three main areas of exploration are addressed through the strands;

Investigating Visually and Recording, Using Media and using the Visual Elements.  In addition, within S1 we set the foundations of critical and evaluative thinking through the Observing, Reflecting, Describing and Responding strand.

S2 Course

The S2 course touches on all strands but focuses primarily on three main strands.  These are Creating and Designing, Communicating and a more sophisticated application of Using Media.

The Observing, Reflecting, Describing and Responding strand is also further developed, working in a similar format to the S1 structure.

ASSESSMENT 

Reporting is based on pupils being continuously assessed. Reports identify the level the pupils working within and relate to the outcomes: Using, Expressing and Evaluating, and Appreciating.  A written comment identifies pupil strengths and development needs.