Art
What is it to be a Artist at Marriotts?
The Art curriculum aims to imbue our learners with a sense of curiosity and innovation. Creativity is nurtured and confidence grown in order to enable our students to produce personal and meaningful works of Art.
At Marriotts our students are trained in a variety of materials, techniques and processes allowing our students to find their own personal strengths and interests. Students will have the opportunity to explore print making, digital art, photography, clay, ceramics, mixed media, sculpture and paint.
Sketchbooks are used with pride to organise and present development work, and our students’ independence is supported through directed homework tasks. Assessment takes place regularly within our 8 weekly module cycle and students are provided personalised feedback in order to enable progress and support success.
Our curriculum aims to impart employable skills such as creativity, problem solving, independence and an ability to think critically and to invent.
Our Art department are committed to building the cultural capital of our students and extra-curricular opportunities are provided such as trips to St Ives, The Henry Moore Sculpture Gardens and London Galleries.
Curriculum Overview
Please click this link to see the Art Curriculum overview.
Key Stage 3
The Key Stage 3 curriculum introduces learners to a broad range of art and textiles materials and encourages them to move away from the idea of ‘good art’ and ‘bad art’. Many students come to us with preconceived ideas about their creative ability and we help to nurture an understanding of the subject as well as a sense of creativity and enjoyment. Students are taught basic art skills, which they master over time and can apply later if they chose to pursue the subject at GCSE and A Level. Students are also taught a wide range of materials, techniques and processes, including textiles which they can apply during their Art, Craft and Design courses. Year 7 and 8 students have 1 hour per week to cover the National Curriculum content in Art, whilst Textiles is delivered as part of the Tech carousel in year 7, and consists of 3 lessons a fortnight. Year 9 artists have a developing skills year, exploring a wider range of materials and have 2 lessons per week.
Key Stage 4
We offer the GCSE Art and Design (Pearson). The Key Stage 4 curriculum introduces learners to the concept of working from a project brief and encourages pupils to examine their own interests as the source for their creative output. Experimentation with varied materials allows students to diversify their skill set and strengthens problem-solving skills. Alongside completing GCSE coursework pupils will learn how to curate their own artwork and how to build a successful art portfolio.
Key Stage 5
The A-Level qualification in Art and Design (Pearson) composes of 2 internally set coursework assignments, 1 written assignment and 1 externally set exam unit, with a 15 hour exam at the end. Students receive a high level of individually tailored support from a skilled team of teachers, support staff and professional practitioners. Students are given the opportunity to express themselves creatively through independent learning, practical application, teamwork and reflection.
Click on the relevent year group curriculum maps in the document section below to find out more detail about what is studied in Marriotts Art department. For further details of the Art curriculum please contact Mrs S Fry (S.Fry@marriotts.herts.sch.uk)
You also download Knowledge Organisers for each year group from our Knowledge Organiser page . These outline what homework is expected from each student, for all subjects.
Subject Team
The Art Department consists of 3 highly skilled and motivated members of staff who are fully committed to ensuring each student maximises their potential in Art and is able to enjoy the diverse range of topics that we study at Marriotts.
| Staff | Role In Faculty |
|---|---|
| Mrs S Fry | Head of Subject |
|
Mrs L Hopelman |
Teacher of Art (Lead Teacher: Textiles) |
| Mrs G Bedford | Teacher of Art/Textiles. |
| Miss S Parry | Teacher of Art/Technology |
Curriculum Maps
Click on the relevent year group curriculum map to find out more detail about what is studied in Marriotts Art department.
Careers: Where can this subject take me?
Potential careers
Amongst a wide range of careers accessible with an Art qualification, students could consider:
| Career Area | How this subject helps | Pathway |
| Games Design | Learning how to draw and render imagery to a good standard and about proportion. | A-level Art, BA Games Design, BA Graphics, BTEC Art and Design. |
| Tattooing | Drawing and maintaining focus. Creating unique designs. | Apprenticeship at local tattooists. A-level in Art, BTEC Art and Design. |
| Artist | Learning about a broad range of materials and processes. | BTEC Art and Design, A-level in Art, BA Fine Art. |
| Special Effects Makeup | Colour mixing and theory. | Special Effects Makeup (LMC), Apprenticeships. |
Enrichment
Some examples of enrichment activities we have held over the past few years:
Students have the opportunity to take part in a variety of day trips, in recent years they have enjoyed visiting the National Portrait gallery and The Henry Moore foundation studio and sculpture gardens. Students have also taken part in a residential trip to St Ives, where they have visited the Tate gallery, the Barbara Hepworth museum and had the opportunity to work with artists local to the area.
