The art department at QEHS uses six themes to define the key knowledge and skills that our young artists need to experience, refine and perfect, appropriate to expectations of their age range.
To view our curriculum themes, click here.
These key themes give opportunities for students to understand their own and other cultures (1) and to develop visual literacy through the analysis of key works of art (2).
The foundation skill for all our year groups is drawing (3); we interpret this in many ways, from accurate observation to large scale experimental drawing, and including digital drawing for students in key stages 4 and 5.
Our young artists will explore different media in each project (4), with opportunities to experience, for example in key stage 4: drawing with experimental materials in Fine Art, digital drawing in graphics and in key stage 5: darkroom photography. There are regular opportunities to revisit student’s developing skills in watercolour, acrylic painting, oil pastel and other art materials.
The sketchbook is the key record of an artist’s thought process; our young artists learn to record and annotate and to present their research and their own art work (5) with care and in an increasingly personal way. Young artists are motivated by the opportunity to create outcomes (6) based on their own creative ideas, and they show their mastery of their art skills and knowledge in these final pieces.
This platform of art knowledge and experience is revisited in each year creating a cycle of creative growth for our young people to be ready for examination and onward careers in the arts.
The art curriculum tree shows how the curriculum builds from Year 5 through to Key Stage 5 (year 12/13).
Curriculum overview
Select a button below to see the curriculum overview.