Stoke Newington School is a creative environment dedicated to supporting all the creative subjects, acknowledging their individual and collective importance in the curriculum. The School values the student’s learning in these subjects and, especially in the visual arts, acts as an agent to extend their awareness across the student and teaching body.

Within this framework, art is well-placed to engage, inspire and challenge students, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment creatively. This bolsters their learning both within the subject and also extends their resilience in risk-taking and problem-solving across their studies.

In all our projects, students learn about the broader cultural background to art and artists from across time and around the world. This not only supports the inclusive ethos of the school, but provides a learning space where students include their own cultures in their work.

Each year group at Stoke Newington School experiences art through activities that engage students in practical skills-based learning whilst fostering the development of reflective awareness of their own learning process. Drawing is important as a starting point and students are expected to develop through taught sessions and a critical dialogue with their own work. This approach is combined with focused art historical knowledge and projects which emphasise each of the core specialist areas, for example, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. Students develop these practical key skills to underpin their knowledge which equip them to develop as critical thinkers and experimenters with a clear understanding of meaning and purpose.

Students develop a reflective awareness of their own learning process and learn through a range of group, individual and bespoke activities which targets creative learning as part of the process. In this way, key ideas on the development of concepts, ideas and themes are introduced from the outset.

All members of staff have high expectations of their students and are experienced at making support available at appropriate times for students. At all key stages, the approach is to give every student a fulfilling learning experience

Art at Key Stage 4 (Art, Craft & Design: Edexcel/Pearson)

GCSE Art is strongly committed to offering an innovative approach to creative processes through projects that involve both traditional and experimental exploration of materials and concepts. We believe that there is a strong and robust future in the creative industries and so equipping our students with these tools at this stage can only be a positive step for them. Students will develop key skills in visual communication, problem solving, evaluation and critical understanding of contextual sources as well as an ability to develop and present ideas. Students will learn how artists convey ideas and will respond to the work of a range of artists using a variety of methods. They will express their own ideas which will build a strong foundation for further study at A Level. Art is an excellent option that provides a balance with core subjects.

GCSE Art is assessed through a combination of 60% coursework (two projects) and 40% exam (externally set project).

Within GCSE Art students will be encouraged to:

  • Understand the purpose of visual communication
  • Explore ideas & concepts behind the work of artists, specialising in drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, ceramic, and digital photography and editing techniques.
  • Visit galleries and exhibitions, enabling students to learn from the work of others and making connections with their own work and past/contemporary practices.
  • Record the creative process in sketchbooks, and present final outcomes in physical final pieces.
Year 9 Art curriculum map | Year 10 Art curriculum map | Year 11 Art curriculum map