The Art Department at Audenshaw School has three specialist Art teachers and three fully equipped Art rooms including a specialist ceramic room. All have networked computers, scanners and colour printers.
In Year 7, form groups are taught together as a class of 30 and pupils stay with the same teacher for the whole of the first year. In Years 8 and 9 forms are split in two and taught in groups of 15, which allows classes to experience a much wider range of practical activities. These groups complete two major projects with two different teachers over the course of each year. Projects focus on building and improving basic drawing and painting skills and introducing pupils to simple 3D and relief work. All Art projects are based on the work of an artist, a movement in art or art from another region or culture (e.g. Aboriginal painting). Ceramics is taught to all KS3 classes.
Art is an optional subject at KS4. Boys choose to follow the AQA GCSE Fine Art option in which 60% of marks are awarded for coursework completed throughout Year 10 and 11 and 40% is awarded for a final, externally set exam. Teaching groups do not exceed 20 pupils and all are in mixed ability sets. Boys stay with the same teacher for the whole of the GCSE course.
At A-level our students follow the AQA Fine Art course and are increasingly free to select the theme of their coursework. This course allows students to focus on drawing and painting or to explore a range of other areas such as Textiles or 3D Design.
Both the AS and the A2 course are split into two separate practical units (coursework and exam) each of which carry equal weighting. Both courses involve some critical and contextual studies but the A2 coursework – the Personal Investigation - demands a formal written response.
Results in the department are excellent with last years cohort achieving 93%A*-C at GCSE and 8 out of 9 students achieving A*-C at A2.
Many of our A level students opt to study Art at degree level.