Year 7 Curriculum Overview

Year 7 is about learning to see. Over eighteen lessons, two a week, students build the drawing and painting skills that every later unit depends on: how to look carefully, how to show light and dark and how to judge their own work honestly. There are only a few skills and each is practised until it is secure, so every lesson builds on the one before. Work is collected as portfolio pages and put together in sketchbook form.

Subject: Art and Design

Project: Form, Tone and Yayoi Kusama

What students will study

Students begin with the building blocks of drawing. They learn to see everyday objects as simple solid shapes (a sphere, a cylinder and a cone) and to show them in pencil, from the lightest highlight to the darkest shadow, so that a flat page looks solid. They use the same skills on a group of objects, thinking about how things overlap and where to place them on the page. In watercolour they use a single colour, Prussian blue, to practise going from light to dark and with a biro they learn hatching and cross-hatching, where lines build up to make darker areas.

The second half of the unit looks at the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, known for her pumpkins and her patterns of dots. Students find out about her work, write about it using the correct vocabulary and copy a section of it to see how she builds it up. They then draw a real pumpkin by looking closely and use what they have learned to make a final piece of pumpkins in the style of Kusama. The unit ends with students judging their own progress in writing.

Cross-curricular links

Mathematics. Ellipses, proportion, measuring and using a grid.

English and literacy. Key vocabulary, writing about an artist and a written evaluation of their own work.

Geography. Finding Matsumoto, Tokyo and New York on a map, places linked to Kusama and her work.

PSHE. Sticking at it when a drawing does not work first time and using feedback to improve.

How you can support your child at home

• Put an everyday object such as a tin, a ball or a piece of fruit under a lamp. Ask your child to point out the lightest area, the darkest area and the shadow on the table.
• Ask your child to shade a ball or a tin in pencil, pressing lightly for pale areas and harder for dark ones, then to check their drawing against the real thing.
• Look at pictures of Kusama's pumpkins together. Ask your child to describe the shapes, the pattern and the colours and to say what makes them so striking.

Year 8 Curriculum Overview

Year 8 builds on the drawing skills of Year 7 and adds colour. Students have one lesson a week, so the unit runs for nine weeks. They move from pencil to coloured pencil and then to watercolour, learning to control washes, mix colours and build dark tones without losing the light. They study one artist closely and use what they find out in their own work. The unit ends with a finished painting and a written review.

Subject: Art and Design

Project: Sweet Treats

What students will study

Students study Enya Todd, a British watercolour illustrator based in Bath who paints cakes and desserts for books, packaging and magazines. They start by showing tone in pencil and in coloured pencil, then move on to watercolour, learning how to lay a smooth wash, mix colours and build tone in layers, which is called glazing. Looking at how Enya Todd makes a cake look good enough to eat helps students decide what to look for in a painting.

Students make a copy of her work to learn how she paints, then plan and draw an original cake or dessert of their own, thinking about shape and composition. They paint it, using the paint to show textures such as icing, sponge and cream, and then refine it. The unit ends with a finished A4 watercolour and a short written review in which students compare their work with the artist's and say what they would do next.

Cross-curricular links

Mathematics. Ratios of paint to water, proportion and measuring and using a grid to copy accurately.

Science. Light, shadow and reflection and how pigments mix and change colour when diluted.

Food and hospitality. Cake design and presenting food so that it looks appealing.

English and literacy. Art vocabulary, explaining choices and writing a review of their own work.

Enterprise and careers. Illustration as a career, including work for cookbooks, packaging and magazines.

How you can support your child at home

• Look at the cakes and desserts in a bakery window, on a recipe book cover or on packaging. Ask your child where the light is coming from and which parts are lightest and darkest.
• Mix paint from two or three colours, even in a children's paint set. How many different browns can your child make? What happens to the colour when more water is added?
• Ask your child to draw a cake or biscuit from real life, thinking about the main shapes first and adding the detail later.

Year 9 Curriculum Overview

Year 9 is the greater depth year. The unit lasts eighteen lessons, two a week, and has two pieces of work in two different media, which gives students time to refine them to the standard expected at the start of the GCSE. Students use the skills built in Years 7 and 8 to make something personal. They are expected to say what their work is for and to explain their decisions with evidence. This is good preparation for GCSE Art and Design, which starts in Year 10.

Subject: Art and Design

Project: Labels and Identity

What students will study

Labels are the words other people use about us and the words we choose for ourselves. Students think about the difference between the two and decide on a clear message to communicate. They study the American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, looking at how he uses symbols, words and raw, energetic marks, and write about his work using the Point, Evidence, Explain, Link (PEEL) method. Piece A is a composition in oil pastel, using layering, scratching into the pastel (sgraffito) and a resist wash, with symbols and words chosen to carry the message.

Piece B is a portrait built entirely from handwritten words, inspired by the artist Phil Vance. Students learn that writing can work like shading: small, close writing makes darker areas and larger, more widely spaced writing makes lighter ones. They measure and construct a face, simplify a photograph into four tones and build the portrait up in layers of words. This is a sensitive topic, so the unit has clear ground rules. Students are never asked to share personal information. The work focuses on the labels they choose to explore and the effects of stereotypes, and the Catholic belief in the dignity of every person underpins every discussion. The unit ends with a written evaluation and a short knowledge check.

Cross-curricular links

English and literacy. Writing analytical paragraphs, crediting sources and writing a message statement.

History. New York in the late twentieth century, attitudes to race and class in Basquiat's time and people in history who challenged labels.

Religious Education. Human dignity, being made in the image of God and the harm that stereotypes cause.

Mathematics. Ratio and proportion in the face and symmetry.

Computing. Turning a photograph into four tones and handling images safely.

PSHE. Stereotypes, identity, respect and responding to feedback.

How you can support your child at home

• Talk about the labels you see every day, on clothes, food, in the media or online. Which are helpful and which can be unfair? Your child will not be asked to share anything personal in lessons and the same applies at home.
• Look at some of Basquiat's paintings together online. You may want to look first, as some contain strong themes. What symbols, words and marks can your child spot and what message do they think he is sending?
• Ask your child to write one word very small and then very large. Which looks darker on the page and why? They could try shading a simple shape using only handwriting.

Year 10 Art and Design (GCSE)

Year 10 is the start of the GCSE course (OCR GCSE Art and Design, J170 Art, Craft and Design). Students have three lessons a week and follow the theme of the Environment in Fine Art or Photography. There is no written exam.

How the GCSE is assessed

Component 01, the Portfolio (60%), is a personal project made in school. Component 02, the Externally Set Task (40%), is released by OCR in January and finishes with a 10 hour supervised exam. Teachers mark both and OCR checks a sample. Four assessment objectives (AO) are marked, each worth 25% of the GCSE:

AO	What it means (OCR wording)	Share of the GCSE
AO1	Develop ideas through investigations, demonstrating critical understanding of sources.	25%
AO2	Refine work by exploring ideas, selecting and experimenting with appropriate media, materials, techniques and processes.	25%
AO3	Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions as work progresses.	25%
AO4	Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language.	25%

 

Terms 1 and 2: Seeing and recording (Natural Forms)

What students will study. Students learn to look closely, drawing natural objects such as shells and bark in line, tone, texture, pattern and colour, and learn to annotate their work. They study Karl Blossfeldt and Ernst Haeckel.

Assessment objectives. AO3 leads, with AO1.

Cross-curricular links. Science; Mathematics; English and Religious Education (care for creation).

How you can support your child at home

• Draw shells, leaves or seed heads together from different angles.

Terms 3 and 4: Trying media (Landscape and Change)

What students will study. Students try painting, printmaking, photography and mixed media in turn. Practitioners include Joan Eardley, Kurt Jackson, Paul Nash, Hokusai, Angie Lewin, Edward Burtynsky and Mandy Barker.

Assessment objectives. AO2 leads, with AO1 and AO3.

Cross-curricular links. Geography; Science; Computing and Religious Education (care for creation).

How you can support your child at home

• Visit a gallery or exhibition, in person or online, and discuss which work your child likes best.

Terms 5 and 6: The personal project (My Place)

What students will study. Students work through the full GCSE process on their own idea: drawing and photographing a local place, researching two practitioners and making a large final piece in Fine Art or Photography. The year ends with a portfolio mark.

Assessment objectives. All four AOs, with the final piece marked mainly for AO4.

Cross-curricular links. Geography; English; Mathematics and Religious Education (Laudato Si').

How you can support your child at home

• Visit a local place together so your child can gather their own drawings and photographs.

Year 11 Art and Design (GCSE)

Year 11 is spent completing the two components that make up the whole GCSE. Students have three lessons a week. The Portfolio (Component 01) is completed by the end of Term 2. The Externally Set Task (Component 02) starts in Term 3, after OCR releases the set task in January. Students work independently on it and complete their final piece in the 10 hour exam in Term 5. No new topics are taught from Term 4. Year 10 prepares students for this process, so they already know what each stage asks for.

The two components

Component	Marks	Share of the GCSE	What students do
01 Portfolio	120	60%	Make a personal portfolio of work in response to a starting point, brief, scenario or stimulus set in school. Marked in school and checked by an OCR moderator.
02 Externally Set Task	80	40%	Choose one theme from the OCR paper, develop ideas in a preparation period and make a final piece in 10 hours of supervised time. Marked in school and checked by an OCR moderator.

 

Terms 1 and 2: The major project, Component 01 (Human Impact, Place and Change)

What students will study. Students begin the final coursework project, which looks at how people change places and the environment. They gather new sources by drawing and photographing an environment of their choice, research two practitioners and compare them, and test techniques linked to each. They develop three compositions, choose one, make practitioner inspired pieces and a small rehearsal piece, then plan and make a final piece. The portfolio is finished with a written evaluation, labelled with its sources credited, and completed by the end of Term 2. Students sign a declaration that the work is their own.

Assessment objectives. All four AOs are assessed: research and ideas (AO1), experiments and development (AO2), drawing, photography and annotation (AO3) and the final piece (AO4). Teachers mark the portfolio over the Christmas break and January using the OCR mark bands.

Cross-curricular links. Geography (human impact on places and the environment); Science (climate and pollution); English (research writing, crediting sources and evaluating) and Religious Education (care for creation).

How you can support your child at home

• Ask which stage of the project your child is at and what they plan to finish this week. A short, regular conversation about deadlines helps more than checking the work itself.
• Offer to be an audience. Ask your child to talk you through what they intend the final piece to show.

Terms 3 to 5: The Externally Set Task, Component 02 (ending with the 10 hour exam)

What students will study. The Externally Set Task starts in Term 3, after OCR releases the set task in January. Students read all the themes, choose one and work independently on it: researching two practitioners, drawing and photographing their own sources, generating ideas and testing materials. The preparation period then ends, the work is signed off and secured and nothing more can be added. Nothing new is taught from Term 4. The task ends in Term 5 with the 10 hour supervised exam, in which students complete their final piece in school, with a record of the hours kept. Work is stored securely between sessions.

Assessment objectives. All four AOs are assessed across the preparatory work and the final piece.

Cross-curricular links. English (reading the paper, writing intentions and evaluating); Mathematics (scale and proportion); Computing (editing photographs and keeping records) and PSHE (working independently and managing time).

How you can support your child at home

• Ask your child which theme they chose and why. Explaining a choice aloud is good preparation for writing about it.
• Encourage regular drawing and photography at home during the preparation period. Good attendance matters most during the 10 hours of supervised time, because the final piece is made in those lessons.

• Science—natural forms—ecosystems.
• Geography—natural forms.
• History—development of natural forms.
• DT—technology and the development of man-made objects and forms.
• Science—technology and the impact on the environment.
• Geography—where materials are sourced from.
• Religious-origins.
• Science—natural forms—ecosystems.
• Geography—seas and oceans, and where natural forms come from.
• History—development of natural forms.
• Religious-beliefs.
• Science—human forms and evolution.
• Religious– beliefs about human image.
• History-war and conflict.
• Geography-different cultures.
• Languages-culture