Art & Design
The aim of our Art department is to celebrate and encourage the creativity and individuality of each our girls. A supportive and creative environment allows pupils to experience a full range of creative learning experiences, including textiles, ceramics, etching, letterpress and silkscreen printing.
Students can display their creations in the Upper Vitreum gallery space, which also provides a studio space for A-Level students and visiting artists.
We offer an extensive programme of enrichment & co curricular opportunities for our students from art trips at home and abroad to lunchtime clubs and after school GCSE revision. We also welcome a variety of artists and speakers into school to share their experience and insights with the girls.
As the creative industries continue to gain prominence in UK, pupils are wise to pursue extended study in Art and Design, with the demand for graduates with these specialist skills at an all-time high.
Lower School
Girls learn about the creation of images through their understanding of visual language and explore a wide range of techniques and processes.
We focus on areas such as fashion, graphics and illustration, as well as fine art, to develop textiles, posters, ceramics, masks and prints.
Pupils also enjoy attending our various clubs, where they might work with an artist in residence or make props for a major drama production.
GCSE
At GCSE, girls continue a natural progression from the work they have studied and refining the skills they have acquired during their first three years at school.
Students are given a neutral stimulus and asked to interpret it artistically from their own individual perspective. This work comprises observational drawing and the use of a wide range of materials and techniques, often for the first time, resulting in the production of a watercolour or acrylic painting, a calligraphic print, computerised images and a ceramic object.
A Level
At A-Level, girls have freedom to focus on and amplify their individual interests in Art & Design and they are encouraged to use our extensive facilities during private study periods or lunchtime, where members of our passionate and enthusiastic department are on hand to offer guidance and support.
We adopt a collegiate approach to nurture creative, independent minds and give them the support to realise their full potential. Specialist workshops in photography, ceramics and print allow students work alongside professional artists to extend their coursework outcomes and generate and refine their own creative ideas in a wide range of specialist media.
They also develop important communication and analytical and IT skills, which complement many other A-Level subjects and are central to various careers and university choices. In recent years our A-Level students have been accepted at top Art Schools including Central St Martins & the Marangoni Institute in London.
