ART
LEVEL 3: A LEVEL
EXAMINING BOARD: OCR
This course allows you to develop a personal, imaginative, creative portfolio of highly skilled, multidisciplinary work.
With an emphasis on drawing from observation and visual communication of ideas, it will prepare you for your next step towards a wide variety of creative occupations.
Set within our purpose-built Art Studio, you are encouraged to develop your work in unique directions.
Visiting Artists, trips to galleries, life drawing enrichment, competitions and live brief opportunities help you to create work to a high standard, setting your portfolio apart from others when you apply for an Apprenticeship, University or Art College.
“It is clear that candidates benefit from an Art course that supports ambition, individuality, skills and creativity in a notably wide range of materials and techniques.
Candidates’ responses to highly individual themes are very well developed, showing ambition and a sense of purpose in the exploration of ideas, enriched by investigations into a notably wide range of practitioners.”
Chief Examiner OCR
Year 1
In your first year, you will develop your skills and different assignments cover all the techniques and processes needed to achieve success in your second year.
You will learn:
- how to develop ideas and concepts in response to given briefs and themes,
- how to gather relevant research to guide and inform your project
- how to use the range of advanced processes and specialist equipment to develop, refine and achieve your creative vision and ambitions.
Year 2
In your second year, you will begin to specialise through two modules.
Module 1 Personal Investigation (60% of overall mark)
This is a practical project in a media of your choice that you will set yourself.
Although guided and supported by your Teacher throughout and informed by the experience gained during Year 1 of the course, you will decide and determine which direction you want to take your major project in.
This coursework-only project contains a written component equivalent to an academic essay.
Module 2 Externally Set Assignment (40% of overall mark)
The awarding body will provide a set of seven exam themes, from which you will choose one to respond to.
This practical, coursework-based unit is approximately nine weeks long and concludes in a 15-hour exam.
As a minimum, you will need (or equivalent to);
- GCSE Mathematics grade 4
- GCSE English Language or Literature grade 4
- plus three more GCSEs at grade 4.
Ideally, you will have studied a creative subject at GCSE, such as Art, but this is not essential.
With the exception of a 15-hour exam, all work is practical and coursework based.
All work is assessed once projects have been submitted for a given deadline, with constructive and detailed feedback being provided to assist in the improvement of coursework and the further refinement of skills.
Students have gone onto university to study a range of creative subjects, including Fine Art, Fashion, Illustration, Photography, Visual Communication, Media, Marketing, Web Design, Art Direction, Publishing and Exhibition Management and Curation.
Alternatively, many pursue Apprenticeships in the creative industries.
Are there many opportunities in the Creative Industries?
The Creative Industries are one of the fastest-growing economic sectors in the UK.
Organisations now pay great attention to their visual profiles, what product or service doesn’t use an image in some way? There are many careers in which this qualification will be of benefit to you.
Is Art an academic subject?
It is a common misconception that Art is not an academic subject. Achieving a successful artefact is a carefully crafted process requiring many varied skills, including complex decision-making skills.