Visual Arts

Our Year 7 cultural units of work have direct links with our RE, Catering, Geography & History departments . The same can be said for Natural forms in Year 8 with Biology and Geography. Artists from different cultures and different countries are studied in-depth and we place a great emphasis on studying and appreciating forms of Art from a variety of cultures, religions and countries.

Trips are done within the exam preparation and are always linked to the AQA set questions so that we can improve the level of outcome for the GCSE. 

We have on many occasions invited professionals to work with the students and have taken students to visit Art Galleries to expose them to Art in its natural setting. We have visited many cities exploring architecture, toured Morrocco, Prague, Paris and worked with world famous sand sculptures in Ireland. Artists and Photographers such as Juliette Hamilton, Jennifer Collier and Paul

Wolfgang have also been into Werneth working with our young artists.

In year the students study Art and Design within the theme of Culture. The students will experience art and design in India, Russia, Japan, Mexico, Australia, Austria and the UK. . The work investigates the cultural influences of that country within art and also allows students to embed skills and techniques using colour pencil, watercolour, collage, soft pastel and oil pastel. The students will learn how to research and use annotation to explain their ideas and record information. There are a variety of outcomes which use different techniques and media allowing students to increase their global knowledge of art and personal artist abilities.

The work is complimented with an interested alternative video link showing life in that country and an oracy quiz on facts and literacy spell check.

Curriculum Overview Y7

Year 8 is a continuation of building artistic skills, techniques and knowledge. This years topic is Natural Forms and focus’s on the animal kingdom.

Students will refine display and composition skills including the use of Corel Paint ICT Skills.

Students will learn how to research themes in general, specific topics and mind mapping ideas. They will have in depth looks at artists and annotate their own opinions. Observation drawing it taught and the technique of gridding and enlargement experienced. Students will finish the year producing a quality canvas based on an animal of their choice in pencil, colour pencil, water colour paints or acrylic paints.

Students undertake a Foundation Specialism year where they can get a flavour of the GCSE specialisms in Graphics, Fine Art, Photography and 3D. Within a project students will gain skills in all 4 of our GCSE specialisms. Examples of topics include:

• Graphics – Studying the theme of superhero's through comic books and film. Creating collages and observational drawing and creating their own superhero celebrity magazine cover using advanced techniques with Corel Paint
• 3D – Creating sculptures is always exciting and students in this term are stretched creatively. Projects are based on design ideas and selection of materials. Outcomes have included Fantasy Underwater Shoes, Plague Doctor Masks, and Festival Heads.
• Fine Art – In preparation for GCSE students will learn high level skills within painting and drawing, learn about light and shadow and the creation of 3D images. We also focus on texture and portraying skin, fur and scales to become life like.
• Photography – History from Pin hole to digital, Close-ups, landscapes and  dramatic lighting. Learning how to edit and manipulate photographs on Corel Paint and gaining knowledge of the job prospects for a photographer in Wildlife, forensics, sport, journalism and portraiture.

In Year 10 & 11 students can choose from our 4 specialisms in Visual Arts •Fine Art •Graphics •3D Sculpture •Photography Students can take 2 GCSE’s in our department especially if they wish to study the arts at college and possibly seek a creative career. Exam results are very high, we have a 100% pass rate Level 4 and above and the majority of students gain a higher grade than their target sometimes 2-4 grades higher. Students within our Visual Arts do not necessarily need to be gifted or talented in this area all we require is an enthusiastic attitude!

GCSE ART

To celebrate our students' success in Visual Arts, at the end of each term one student from each of the KS3 year groups is awarded the Exceptional Artwork & Creativity Award. Teachers nominate 3 amazing pieces of work from each year group based on outcome and effort and the nominations are judged by Year 10 to select an overall winner for year 7,8 & 9.

The artwork is framed and displayed in the Head Teacher and two Deputy Head Teachers offices and they present the student with a copy of the work to take home, a certificate and a gift voucher.

The department also enter lots of competitions for KS3 in the past we have won National competitions with Royal Mail for stamp designs, Book covers for Tom Gates by Liz Pichon and the Manchester United Christmas card design