Art and Design

There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun.

Pablo Picasso
Spanish Cubist painter (1881 - 1973) 

 "I mixed colours, drew self-portraits, weaving and natural sculptures."

"In Art, we studied view points and we have drawn a picture of a reflection."

"We have learnt to recreate a section of still life, to sketch a still life composition, to select and record form first hand observation, to create 'light and shade' when drawing 3D shapes, used lines tones and shapes in figures to show movement."

"In my Art and Design lessons I have been learning about facial expressions, people in actions and one point perspective drawings."

- Pupils' Views

Art and Design stimulates creativity and imagination. It provides visual, tactile and sensory experiences, and a special way of understanding and responding to the world. It enables children to communicate what they see, feel and think, through the use of colour, texture, form, pattern and different materials and processes. Children become involved in shaping their environments through art and design activities. They learn to make informed judgements, and aesthetic and practical decisions. They explore ideas and meanings through the work of artists and designers. Through learning about the roles and functions of art, they can explore the impact it has had on contemporary life and on different periods and cultures. The appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts enrich all our lives.

At Wykeham, our objectives in the teaching of art and design are for children to:

• think critically and have a rigorous understanding of Art and Design
• know how art reflects and shapes history, contributes to culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.
• produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording experiences
• become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art and design techniques
• use the taught language of art to evaluate and analyse creative works
• learn about great artists, architects and designers in history.

The school uses a variety of teaching and learning styles in art and design lessons to engage, inspire and challenge pupils. Our principal aim is to enable children to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes in Art and Design, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. We ensure that the act of investigating and making something includes exploring and developing ideas, and evaluating and developing work. We do this best through a mixture of whole-class teaching and individual or group activities. Teachers draw attention to good examples of individual performance as models for the other children. They encourage children to evaluate their own ideas and methods, and the work of others, and to say what they think and feel about them. We give children the opportunity to work, by themselves and in collaboration with others, on projects in two and three dimensions, and at different scales. Children also have the opportunity to use a wide range of materials and resources, including the use of computers.

Please click here for this year's overview.