Art and Design education at Woodroffe is designed to build the confidence and creativity of the individual, nurturing their understanding of theoretical and practical artistic study. It is heavily shaped by the thinking of educationalist Sir Ken Robinson in that we are trying to help students find their passion by creating an engaging, enjoyable and balanced learning experience. We aspire to build the technical knowledge of the pupil and nurture individual passion along with appreciation and understanding of creative global historical context.
Through a variety of practical, appropriate skills-based learning opportunities throughout the key stages, pupils develop their technical and creative skills learning about the Art history through the varied topics studied. Practical skills are developed through units of work that that allow our students to play with processes and learn how to do things through personal experience. We use our printmaking facilities, etching presses, fully equipped Mac suite with Adobe Creative Cloud, specialist ceramics space with kilns, darkroom and access to a range of DT tools to create the arena in which students can enjoy learning new skills. Whilst drawing and painting is at the heart of our curriculum, the department prepares students for advanced learning in the subject area by introducing specialist teaching in Art, Graphics and Photography at appropriate stages in their learning.
An understanding of creative mechanics is built from Year 7, wherein the pupils are taught projects based upon understanding and fluency with the artistic formal elements. They engage with a variety of mediums and techniques, with focus on Op Art, Pop Art and Portraiture. This develops into a focus upon cultural Art History in Year 8, wherein they integrate learned knowledge with a focus on specific craft (Japanese print-making, Impressionist painting). A contemporary insight into the creative language is developed in Year 9, where pupils learn how the modern, digital and graphic-based artworks have developed from historic techniques. In Year 9 we begin to teach students how to use more advanced digital technology to generate Artwork so that student choice about specialist pathways at KS4 is an informed one based on experience. In KS4 the students follow GCSE and BTEC courses that challenge students by demanding greater proficiency in the core skills for which our students have been well prepared. This is extended further at A level where project plans become more open and students need to access prior learning processes in a tacit manner so that they can generate independently conceived ideas.
The curriculum encourages an appreciation of critical thinking and specialist skills that support learning across all subject areas. Our students will think creatively and have a growing confidence in voicing their opinions, both in terms of concrete or more abstract thinking. The technical knowledge that they acquire and build on year on year will prepare them to generate impressive A level portfolios that will lead to both good grades and successful university interviews. By KS5 the focus on research and written analysis that permeates the key stages allows students to generate well researched personal studies that support their practical work. We hope to see emerging independence in our students enabling them to think creatively and produce personal, meaningful outcomes for practical and written tasks.
Year 7
Students follow a broad Art and Design curriculum involving drawing, painting, designing and making, contextual studies and analytical thinking.
Year 8
Year 8 students continue to study Art and Design broadly looking first at Russian design icons through the history of the Tsars and artwork like the Imperial Faberge eggs. They look at the origins of the print press and the impact it had on western society and also the role that Japanese printmaking had on western Art in the 19th Century, exploring the techniques used in practical printmaking tasks. Impressionism is studied in Year 8 and compliments the French department’s visit to Giverny where students will encounter both Monet’s artwork and also his collection of Japanese prints by Artists like Hiroshige and Hokusai.
Year 9
In Year 9 we explore global culture and the visual language that is born out of belief systems. This trip around the world covers four continents and explores South American, Native American, African, and Indian arts styles. Students consider the similarities and differences between the visual approaches of various cultures and connect the underlying spiritual beliefs. This builds on the students understanding of the very technical elements studied in year eight and includes more refined 3D work in advance of GCSE courses. Click here for more information.
Arts Award
The Silver Arts Award is a level 2 qualification that aims to enable learners to understand how to develop their own arts practice and arts leadership skills, underpinned by knowledge of their own art form and its relationship to arts provision in the community.
Students will demonstrate their artistic imagination in an art form of their own choice and their ability to generate appropriate responses to challenges. Learners do this by exploring opportunities to extend their own knowledge of, and interests in, the arts and develop their art form skills through planning, implementing, and reviewing a personal arts challenge appropriate to their understanding and ability.
Students review arts events and find out more about the arts through meeting and working with arts practitioners, researching arts organisations, and exploring future education and career pathways. They reflect on what they have learnt and how this may influence their future choices. They also work under professional supervision to develop specific personalised leadership skills through taking the lead in planning, delivering, and reviewing an arts project. They create a personal arts portfolio evidencing their experiences in a format of their choice.
Years 10 & 11
Students will to decide to do either Art or Graphics. Both GCSE’s work in the same way in that they are 60% coursework and 40% exam. The assessment objectives are identical and the course structure is the same. We run an annual KS4 trip to London and other Art visits and projects when time/funding allows. In our KS4 curriculum we are trying to nurture more independence of thought from our students.
Both Art and Graphics have drawing and design at their core but in Graphics the emphasis is on digital skills, like Photography or animation, where as in Art the emphasis is on the tactile, like ceramics and painting. In both instances we go into more detail in terms of techniques and materials and present more open ended projects where students are encouraged to develop their own ideas in response to simple, often one-word, questions.
Years 12 & 13
Students who have passed a GCSE in Art or Graphics at ‘B’ grade are automatically eligible to proceed into KS5 Art, Graphics or Photography. C grade passes at GCSE are considered for sixth form Art courses depending on other results. Art is an essential subject to study if you intend to go into the highly profitable art industries as a career.
“Accounting for 1.7m jobs, contributing 5% of gross value added (GVA) to UK GDP and exporting £17.3bn annually (9% of total service exports), the creative sector outperforms the rest of the UK economy in both growth and job creation.”
Source: The Guardian
In the Sixth Form students on any one of the Art courses are eligible for the educational visits. Every other year we propose an international visit and as an addition we do a domestic excursion (this year was St. Ives). All three courses are designed to be a great foundation for further study in the Arts and to equip our students with the technique, material and conceptual understanding necessary to comfortably make the jump to university courses or the workplace.
Creative Careers – Find your perfect role in the creative industries
Students’ Work
Animations
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Mr Vine
Head of Art & Digital Technology
Miss Burnett
Art
Mr Greenhough
Deputy Head of Sixth Form
Mrs Harahan
Art
Mrs Simons
Art Technician
This February/March was our 24th Town Mill show and below is photo taken a few months ago of some of the students whose work featured in our very first show in 2000. …[Read More] In half term the Art department hired a minibus and drove off to London with our sixth form Art/Graphics/Photography students. The plan was to see as much art in 48 hours as …[Read More] On the 12th Of January Year 10 and 11 BTEC students travelled to London to explore how the many visual aspects of the Harry Potter movies were created and look closely at …[Read More] Life drawing need not always be purely based in the human form as year 10 Graphics students discovered last week. Whilst working on a re-branding project involving dinosaurs they were treated to …[Read More] At the start of the year, we planned to re-invigorate the graffiti wall which after more than a decade was looking a bit tired. The new build had concealed the wall, and …[Read More] On the 26th November The Woodroffe School Art students travelled to Roche court to interview Bill Woodrow, an internationally renowned artist as part of a series of podcasts for the RSA. The …[Read More] This week we have started a little pilot project that is exploring students’ reactions to the visual arts. Famous artworks are being displayed on very large screens in the school hall and …[Read More] “Thank you so much to everyone involved in the organisation of the fabulous St Ives trip. My son had a great time and it was wonderful for them all to have the …[Read More] In the summer term of 2021, we worked with Pete Sheridan and the Lyme Regis Town Council to brighten up the temporary wall in Langmoor Gardens in Lyme Regis. A level students …[Read More] It has been quite a few years since we visited Roche Court which is just outside of Salisbury; a fantastic residence set in beautiful countryside that would have been home to Nelson …[Read More] Back in 2001 we began working with the Town Mill following the completion of its refurbishment project and a grand opening by John Fowles in May. The landscape for the arts was …[Read More] Over half term the Art department took the 6th Form form to St. Ives for a five day tour of the key artistic venues in and around that part of Cornwall. Setting off after school on the last day …[Read More] 34 Year 8 students have achieved their Silver Arts Award. They all worked extremely hard for a year to achieve this award which is worth a level 2 qualification. The Moderator was …[Read More] Students in Year 11 have begun producing their own ideas for their coursework project which has been supported by the inspiration gained from the London trip at the very end of last …[Read More] In the last month Year 10 Art students have been working with various organisations and artists on the GCSE and BTEC Courses. Dan Broom, the events organiser behind Jurassic fields, came in …[Read More] This exhibition combines working artists with students work to raise awareness of the injustices that occur when terminology like ‘enhanced interrogation’ is accepted without question and when …[Read More] Just before the October half term, a group of six Year 12 Woodroffe students created the artwork that now adorns the walls of the sweet shop ‘Lyme Rocks’ in the heart of …[Read More] The Art & Design exam paper for 2019 has been released. To download as a PDF please use the link below. This requires a require a PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader …[Read More] In preparation for the Armistice day celebrations on November the 11th, the Symondsbury Estate asked a number of schools throughout Dorset to create a river of poppies that would run down the …[Read More] This year for the centenary memorial of the 1918 armistice, we were contacted by the town council to put together a team of students to work with local artist Sarah Butterworth and …[Read More] Over Half term, the Art department took a group of Year 12 and 13 students to Amsterdam to visit several exhibitions at art galleries including the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the …[Read More] Tom Paterson, who left us just over three years ago to study illustration at Falmouth University, has already carved out numerous opportunities for himself as a freelance illustrator. He was given the …[Read More] Scarlett Down, who left Woodroffe just over four years ago with an A* in Art and studied anthropology at university, has continued to develop her very accomplished painting skills and now works …[Read More] Just before the end of term, the Year 10 Graphic students travelled to London to visit a number of prestigious art galleries and exhibitions, so that they could see first-hand some contemporary …[Read More] The C level corridor has had an injection of new life thanks to a cross curricular department initiative. Mr Vine took poems inspired by the 2017 National Poetry Day theme of freedom …[Read More] In January students continued with their 3D project inspired by myths and legends of the ridgeway and working with artists Darrell Wakelam and Sarah Butterworth. The outcomes can be seen …[Read More] On Friday 17th November some of the Year 8 students who are doing their Silver Arts Award went down to Lyme Regis Museum to work with children from St. Michael’s Primary School. …[Read More] On the 12th December the BTEC Art group visited Seaton Jurassic to get an understanding of the principles involved in designing an exhibition space. The students are themselves constructing…[Read More] The upper and lower sixth Art/Art History students were fortunate to have the opportunity to visit the BP Portrait Awards at the RAAM in Exeter at the end of November. Usually one …[Read More] On the 25th November the Year 11 Art and Graphics students went to London to visit three Art venues in support of their coursework studies. They visited the V & A in Kensington to get a feel for …[Read More] This workshop built on the school visit to the South west Ridgeway last summer where students explored the myths and legends associated with the landscape in Dorset. Darrell Wakelam came in to …[Read More] Each year the Art department takes a number of educational trips looking at trending exhibitions, important historical artists’ works and sites that have significant cultural value. …[Read More]Town Mill 2023
London Art Trip 2023
Harry Potter & Roche Court
Life Drawing
Graffiti Wall 2022
Roche Court Trip 2021
SENSATIONS
St. Ives Trip 2021
Langmoor Gardens
Year 12 Visit to Roche Court
Town Mill Art Exhibition – May 2021
St. Ives Art Trip 2019
Arts Award Success
Year 10 Art Trip to London 2019
Working with Professionals
Town Mill Art Exhibition – July 2019
‘Lyme Rocks’ – Student Artwork
Art & Design Exam Paper 2019
Armistice Day Poppies 2018
Pages in the Sand
Amsterdam Trip 2018
Alumni – Tom Paterson
Alumni – Scarlett Down
London Art Trip 2018
Graphics & Poetry
Darrell Wakelam Update
National Museum Takeover Day
Seaton Jurassic 2017
BP Portrait Awards 2017
GCSE London Art Trip 2017
Darrell Wakelam Workshop
St. Ives Art Trip 2017