Year 8 – Art and Design

Head of Subject: Miss J Lord

Intended Outcomes

In Year 8 students work on a series of assignments based on ‘Identity and Self’.  

Students will learn:  

  • Observational drawing skills, developing their understanding of tone, line, texture and form; and how to improve accuracy, with a focus on portraiture, proportion and facial features.  
  • How to research and analyze the work of artists, visually and in written form, in order to inform ideas.   
  • How to experiment with ideas and variety of media (including acrylic paint, watercolours, fineliners, markers and collage) in the pursuit of designing exciting pieces of art work.   
  • How to apply their knowledge and skills to create two personal final pieces; they will create one with a focus on painting and one with a focus on the communication of ideas, using symbolism to convey identify.   

  • Course Implementation

    Identity and Self: Drawing Portraits   

    Students learn how to draw facial features and portraits, developing their observational drawing skills of tone, line, texture and form; whilst considering the rules of proportion in order to create an accurate self-portrait. Final assessments are based on the development and refinement of drawing pages in the students’ portfolios and their independent application of the key skills taught.  

    Identity and Self: Contextual Research   

    Students study the work of Chuck Close and his resilience; they learn how to critically analyse and evaluate works of art, develop and justify their opinions, and work in his style to inspire their own creative ideas.  Final assessments are based on the development and refinement of artist research pages presented in students’ portfolios with a focus on their written research and analytical abilities alongside painting skills and their application of the key skills taught.  

    Identity and Self: Experimentation / Final outcome  

    Students learn how to paint using acrylic; learning how to mix colours (including skin tones, shades, tones and highlights) and how to use a palette and paintbrush effectively in order to create a quality self-portrait that create links to their artist research with a focus on colour theory. Final assessments will be based on the experimentation and design work presented in students’ portfolios with a focus on the key skills taught.  

    Identity and Self: Identity and Culture project  

    Students become more independent and consolidate their previous learning, applying their drawing skills and experimenting with a variety of mixed media techniques to create a symbolic self-portrait; they study the work of ‘Peter Blake and consider what makes up their own identity and culture. Students are assessed on their creative journey and the quality of their final piece.   

Learning Impact

The development of knowledge and skills across the year 8 curriculum heightens our students’ ability to create dynamic and successful art projects, enhancing their confidence and ability to communicate and realise their own ideas in a range of media.  

Students’ working at grades for Art & Design are taken from an average of the main assessment objectives covered across the year: drawing and recording, research, experimentation and designing and final outcomes.   

Students’ achievements and progress against these main assessment objectives, will be corresponded to parents through termly data and yearly written reports.  

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