At Key Stage 4, students are able to undertake the WJEC eduqas GCSE in Fine Art, Photography and Textile Design.
The GCSE in Art and Design is designed to provide engaging, challenging, coherent and meaningful learning experiences through a flexible structure that supports the sequential and incremental development of creative practice.
The rewarding and immersive program of study broadens experience, develops imagination and technical skills, fosters creativity and promotes personal and social development.
The focus of the specification is to nurture an enthusiasm for Art, Craft and Design and, through a broad introductory foundation program, to develop critical, practical and theoretical skills that enable students to gain a holistic understanding of a range of practices and contexts in the visual arts, crafts and design fields.
This linear specification provides the flexibility and capacity to build and extend the breadth and depth of students’ creative practice and offers the choice of a broad-based general course.
Unit 1: Portfolio 60% of qualification: 120 marks
This unit comprises a major practical portfolio and outcome/s to be based on internally set themes and subject matter developed from personal and/or given starting points.
Work undertaken within the unit will be internally set, internally assessed and externally moderated.
Work will be selected, evaluated and presented for assessment by the student.
Evidence is required of how the student has met each of the assessment objectives.
No time limit: duration to be determined by the centre.
For 2021 only there will be no visiting moderator. Submission will be via Surpass.
Unit 2: Externally Set Assignment 40% of qualification: 80 marks
This unit will not be subject to assessment in 2021.
Enrichment
In order to support individual students throughout their course, with a view to consolidating prior learning and ensuring maximum progress, the Arts department offers extra curricula coursework sessions, on a Friday after school and during lunch breaks, (where possible). The department will also organise intervention sessions, where the need arises.
Results are awarded as follows:
Grade 9 = Total 185, Grade 8 = Total 172, Grade 7 = Total 159, Grade 6 = Total 142, Grade 5 = Total 125, Grade 4 = Total 108, Grade 3 = Total 78, Grade 2 = Total 49, Grade 1 = Total 20. (These grade boundaries vary each year and are not fixed).
The eduqas website has detailed information about the specification, past papers, examiners reports, summer 2021 adaptions. These can be accessed by the following web link: https://www.eduqas.co.uk/qualifications/art-and-design-gcse
