Sir John Deane's Course Prospectus 2018 1 Sir John Deane's_Courses | Page 4

Art & Design
Course Breakdown
Course Summary
• Exam board is AQA
Paper Content Marks Duration Weighting
Component 1 Journal Unit
(An extended unit of practical work) 96 9 months 60%
Component 2 External Assignment
(practical exam) 96 8 weeks 40%
Summary of Content Suggested Preparation for September
A highly practical subject, work is evaluated using
the formal assessment objectives stipulated by the
exam board which are communicated to students
from the outset. Students should visit as many galleries and exhibitions as
possible, making notes whilst there of things that inspire
and excite you. Visiting the Art and Design Degree
Shows, which take place in May and June each year,
is also good preparation.
Disciplines such as drawing, printmaking, painting
sculpture, textiles work, are integral to the course,
with critical and contextual studies supporting all
investigations.
Component 1 (Journal unit)
An extended unit of practical work, based either on a
subject initiated by the student, or inspired by a list of
starting points provided by the department.
The work is supported by a written and illustrated
‘journal’ analysing the techniques and methods of
appropriate artists, discussing the impact and influence
of their work on the students own. Preparatory studies
in support of the final outcome will be informed by
knowledge acquired in the initial part of the course,
when a series of ‘workshops’ and mini projects will
extend existing skills and impart new ones. During this
period, emphasis on creative thinking will be paramount.
It will run from April of the first year until the end of
January in the second, an extensive period of time where
ideas, techniques, materials and processes can be
explored in depth.
Component 2 (External Assignment)
Students are presented with an ‘exam paper’ containing
a series of specific questions. A practical exam, students
produce a set of preparatory studies over an eight week
period, in response to their chosen question. Work
should be informed by appropriate critical studies and
may be produced in any medium or combination thereof
using skills and techniques acquired throughout the
course. The starting point should be clear with a creative
progression towards an unaided final outcome,
which again may be in any medium.
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