Herns Lane, Welwyn Garden City, Herts, AL7 2AF
Visual Arts
We aim to inspire students and enable them to develop their creativity and lateral thinking – vital attributes for future careers and success in life.
Welcome to the Visual Arts Department – Subject Leader: Mrs K Parsons
Key Stage 3
Ridgeway Art Department intends to provide students with a high-quality art and design education that engages, inspires and challenges students, ensuring they have the knowledge and skill to experiment, develop and present their own works of art, craft and design.
As students progress, we encourage them to use critical thinking to ask questions about works of art, craft and design. Thus, feeling increasingly more confident to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of practitioners and their work. The projects are designed to help students become proficient in drawing, painting and sculpture and connect these disciplines to other forms of art such as mixed media, collage and digital drawing.
Students investigate areas of portrait, landscape and still life and apply their understanding to their own creations. Fully realising their intentions with a final outcome and reflecting upon their individual progress through evaluation and refinement.
Key Stage 3 Curriculum Maps
Year 7 Art Curriculum Rationale and Overview 2024/25
Year 8 Art Curriculum Rationale and Overview 2024/25
Year 9 Art Curriculum Rationale and Overview 2024/25
Key Stage 4
At Key stage 4 students’ study AQA GCSE in Art and Design. The course consists of two units of work. Unit one, the personal portfolio gives students the opportunity to respond to set themes, using and further developing the skills they acquired in key stage 3. This portfolio is created over the two-year course. Unit two is the final exam which culminates in a sustained focus piece, supported by preparatory work in the form of sketchbooks.
More information about the course and subject specification can be found at https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/art-and-design/gcse/art-and-design-8201-8206/specification-at-a-glance
Key Stage 4 Curriculum Map
24-2 Y10 Photography curriculum overview
24-25 Y10 Art curriculum overview
24-25 Y11 Art curriculum overview
24-25 Y11 Photography curriculum overview
Key Stage 5
A-level Art, Design and Photography lays excellent foundations for a career in the creative industries, although the ability to ‘think outside the box’ and the observational skills learnt through this subject are considered valuable in a whole spectrum of professions.
As well as Photoshop and Studio photography, we cover areas of study including drawing, painting, mixed media, installation and sculpture. Encourage students to discover other artists’ work, techniques and materials. Develop a deep understanding of the creative process, and how this can help you problem solve.
Key Stage 5 Curriculum Maps
Y13 A Level Photography Curriculum overview
Y12 A Level Art Curriculum overview
Homework
In Key Stage 4 at least two hours of homework will be set each week, however students are advised to work independently to support work in class.
How parents/carers can support learning
We would encourage parents and carers to spend time reviewing student’s sketchbooks and artwork to celebrate their success. We would encourage trips to local museums and galleries such as St Albans Gallery or galleries in London such as The National Gallery. Holidays are opportunities for our artists to engage with artwork from the local area. A trip to Cornwall for example could provide an opportunity to explore Tate St Ives, located right to the beach. We are always happy to provide guidance, so please do get in touch.
Extra-curricular Activity
We run a KS3 Art club project that has proved popular with students and have a prop making club as part of the Drama production team. As part of a highly innovative Arts team at Ridgeway Academy, the Art department continually seeks to collaborate to provide cross-curricular opportunities for our students such as Science week and responding to current affairs through art.
An Open Studio policy is operated for GCSE students during lunchtimes which gives students further opportunity to extend their skills and knowledge.
Useful Links
UAL Future Creatives: https://www.arts.ac.uk/study-at-ual/short-courses/future-creatives
The Saatchi Gallery: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/
The Hayward Gallery: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/hayward-gallery
The Barbican Centre: http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery
The Whitechapel Gallery: http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/
The National Gallery: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/
The National Portrait Gallery: http://www.npg.org.uk/
The Photographers Gallery: https://www.photo.net/
British Museum: http://www.britishmuseum.org/
The Imperial War Museum: http://www.iwm.org.uk/
The Wallace Collection: http://www.wallacecollection.org/
The Welcome Collection: http://www.wellcomecollection.org/
The Natural History Museum: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/
The White Cube, Hoxton: http://whitecube.com/
The White Cube, Bermondsey: http://whitecube.com/
The Serpentine Gallery: http://www.serpentinegallery.org/
The ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art): https://www.ica.art/
Dulwich Picture Gallery: http://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/default.aspx
The Science Museum: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
The Design Museum: http://designmuseum.org
The British Library: http://www.bl.uk/
African Contemporary Art Gallery: https://www.africancontemporary.com/
Black Cultural Archives and Gallery: https://blackculturalarchives.org/
Museum of London: https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london
Which career paths could I take?
The creative industries are one of the UK’s greatest success stories, with British musicians, artists, fashion brands and films immediately recognisable in nations across the globe. Growing at almost twice the rate of the wider economy and worth a staggering £84 billion a year, the creative industries are well and truly thriving. There are many modern Art career paths students can choose to follow such as fashion, photography, web design, graphic design, illustration, textiles, game design and advertising.
