Art & Design | Stockport Grammar School

Art and Design

Studying Art

The aim of the department is to sustain a lively and creative working environment where high standards are fostered and maintained and pupils are encouraged to recognise the subject as part of a living tradition. Within the dedicated Art building are four studios and a resource area housing a large collection of text books, fabric, and specialist art materials.

Art in First Year

In the Lower School all pupils are taught for one period a week. In the First Year, after an initial introduction to materials, pupils follow a series of projects that are designed to develop a skill and knowledge base across a variety of dry and wet media including pencil, paint, print, textiles and 3D. Themes explored include line and shape, pattern, positive and negative shape, tone, form, colour, texture and composition. Pupils are introduced to the work of artists and art of other cultures. Sketchbooks are key in helping to collate information and develop ideas and skills. Homework is set each week and complements the work completed in class. Pupils are encouraged to use the department at lunch and after school.

Art in Second and Third Year

In the Second and Third Years, skills introduced in the First Year are built upon and new ones introduced. Projects continue to have drawing at their core and a wider understanding of the history of art is encouraged through further contextual study. Themes explored in these years include colour mixing, perspective, repeat pattern, movement and composition. As skills develop, more in-depth study is encouraged with a view to preparing pupils for the rigours of GCSE. An important component of the subject is that ideas can flow between the various disciplines and this forms an integral approach to the teaching. Ideas without a thorough grounding in the discipline of drawing, however, will never reach a satisfying conclusion and the department favours the view that drawing in all its forms is the fundamental bedrock of any Art education, and can be taught!

Gallery visits and trips

From time to time it may be appropriate for groups to be taken to visit exhibitions in local galleries and museums in order to see the Art first hand. Similarly, if a project demands it, pupils may find that they are taken outside the school grounds to draw and gather visual information from source in the development of their classwork.

Clubs and Activities

The department runs a dedicated Art and Textiles Club each Tuesday after school. Here, pupils from across year groups are able to work on projects linked to their classwork or on more specialist pieces that may introduce them to skills including batik, stained glass and ceramics. One area of work undertaken by those in the club involves the making of backdrops and props for use in the various school productions that take place throughout the year. This is a splendid way for pupils to get involved in the backstage aspects of these major productions.