GCSE Art
Examination Board: AQA
Students will complete these distinctive units of work:
Introductory unit of Still Life and Identity (Year 10)
Nature Transformed (Year 10)
Final Major Project (Year 11)
Externally set assignment (Year 11)
All the units are marked in the same way using 4 assessment objectives summarised briefly here:
- AO1 Develop ideas through sustained investigations, demonstrating critical understanding of sources.
- AO2 Refine work by exploring ideas, selecting and experimenting with appropriate media, materials, techniques and processes.
- AO3 Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions as work progresses.
- AO4 Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates understanding of visual language.
You can support your child in their Art GCSE by showing an interest in their creativity and pieces of art. You can also take them or encourage them to visit galleries and exhibitions, there are lots of excellent galleries local to Leeds and Bradford, and I have listed a few links in the Useful Website section below.
Assessment in Year 11
100% of the GCSE is assessed on coursework, and it is broken down into the following parts:
60% Portfolio.
Your child will complete a series of projects over the course of the entire GCSE, and these will form their portfolio. The projects that are most likely to be included are the Nature Transformed project and the Final Major Project (independently chosen starting point).
40% Externally set assignment.
This is a paper that comes from the exam board and will have seven different starting points for students to choose from. We receive this paper in January of Year 11 and will give to students as soon as we return after Christmas. Students will work on this as a new project for eight school weeks then sit for a 10-hour controlled assessment over 2 days, this year they are on 13th and 14th March. In the controlled assessment time students will produce a final response to their eight-week project.
Useful Websites
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zpcndxs/revision/2
https://www.youtube.com/c/TomQuigleyArt
https://artwithmisswilson.weebly.com/artist-research-websites.html
https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/leeds-art-gallery/
https://henry-moore.org/henry-moore-institute/