Art & Photography
Crispin Art and Photography Department prides itself on educating individuals to open their eyes to the wide range of artistic opportunities available to them; as well as allowing students to focus on their particular areas of interest if desired at GCSE. We are a popular GCSE option choice, with around half the cohort choosing either Fine Art, Graphics or Photography at GCSE; some students choose two subject.
GCSE results are among the highest nationally and have been over 90% Grades 4 – 9 for the last thirteen years. We put on various KS3 clubs throughout the year, these include Photography club in the Autumn term. After school sessions are available most days for GCSE students to continue their work in the Art rooms. We have close links with Strode College and each year we take our GCSE students to visit their End of Year Art Show. The department is well equipped and resourced; we have two art rooms, one photography/art room, a graphics room, a photography studio, and we are located in a purpose-built Innovation Hub with large airy rooms and inspiring views.
We have our own Creativity & Innovation exhibition every year to show off the wide range of GCSE Art, Photography and Graphics work. This is normally held in July.
We run a structured programme at Key Stage 3 which allows for significant progress as the students develop from year 7 up to year 9. Each project is structured to allow for formal elements to be taught alongside development of their creativity. Extended Learning is set via a “Connect 4” style homework sheet. From this sheet students can choose four or five tasks to complete based on their interests, skills, and experience. These may include: a piece of artist research/analysis, a painting, photography, digital editing skills and 3D homework. In Year 9, students begin to have more freedom; they try out photography and are given projects which help them to become more independent. All projects are informed by a wide range of cultural sources including: fine artists, cultures, designers and photographers.
Below are the projects we currently study. All projects allow for a wide range of skills to be developed and students are introduced to a wide variety of artists ranging from Cave Art to the present day.
| Year group | Autumn | Spring | Summer |
| Year 7 | Natural Forms Illustration Project | Bugs | “En Plein Air” Landscape project and assessment |
| Year 8 | Portrait Project | Abstraction – 2D and 3D | Architecture and assessment |
| Year 9 | “Art & Words” Sketchbook Project | Surrealism | A range of skills and extended assessment work |
At Key Stage 4 students can opt to study either GCSE Photography, Graphics or Fine Art.
The beginning of the Fine Art course is based on identity. Students follow a structured programme until Easter in Year 10 when they can choose a title for their sustained project, these titles may include Layers, Moments in Time and Reflections. We encourage more freedom but also structure which allows all students the opportunity to develop skills and experience which help help them to develop as artists and become successful in their GCSEs. They finish their coursework unit by the end of December in Year 11 and then start their externally set task in January before the practical ten-hour exam in April.
In Graphics students acquire the skills and experience needed for Graphic Communication and Illustration. Students start with a Foundation course where they develop the hand based and digital based skills they need to be successful. The Sustained project starts before Easter and students will pick their sustained project based on a previous exam title. The rest of the timeline of the course is similar to that of the Fine Art GCSE.
In Photography we start with a foundation course which allows for students to learn the main skills and techniques they need to acquire in this course. In March we start their main sustained project based on a range of previous exam topics, including Framing, Flight and Low light. The rest of the timeline of the course is similar to that of the Fine Art GCSE.