Art
The Art Department has gained a national reputation for excellence and consistently achieves outstanding examination results. Our GCSE and A level courses attract large numbers of pupils who produce original and ambitious work. In 2006 we received an award from the Good Schools Guide who declared us 'The Best Independent School for Fine-art for Boys'. That same year 5 girls, who each achieved 100% at both AS and A2, were placed amongst the top 10 in the country by the examination board Edexcel.
In September 2007 the department moved into a magnificent new Art School designed by the award winning architect John Christophers of Associated Architects. Built over three floors, the light and spacious building offers 5 studios, workshops, offices, a gallery, an art library and IT spaces.
The department is rooted in the fine-art tradition and all pupils have the opportunity to explore painting, textiles, print-making, mixed-media, digital media and sculpture. All work is developed from drawing and a rich programme of critical and contextual studies informs the pupils' understanding. Visiting artists, who exhibit work in The John Moore Theatre Gallery and the Art School Gallery, deliver talks and workshops. We have regular artists-in-residence who combine teaching with the development of their own work.
There are frequent opportunities for pupils of all ages to exhibit work in and outside school. Recent exhibitions have been held in Worcester Cathedral, the Malvern Festival Theatre, The Royal Worcester Porcelain Museum, Worcester Arts Workshop, local restaurants and The Tate, St. Ives.
GCSE pupils spend 5 days in St. Ives in Cornwall. They visit the Tate Gallery, smaller galleries and artists' studios. Internationally known artists give practical workshops in the stunning landscape. It is an intense, action packed trip.
A Level students gain from a programme of gallery visits and interviews with artists, organised throughout England and in European cities such as Barcelona, Nice, Paris, Rome and Amsterdam. They have also visited New York and in 2009 we visited China.
The studios are open 3 nights a week and there is a weekly life drawing class open to all Sixth Formers, parents, staff and visitors. Younger pupils enjoy drop-in sessions with the artist-in-residence, a film and video club and a Chinese arts and crafts club.
The Art Department is keen to involve all members of the school and local community in inclusive art activities. Workshops for all ages and abilities are organised throughout the year. In 2006 we participated in the national Big Draw Day. 160 visitors completed a 50 metre drawing of the school. This was later sent to a partner school in China who undertook a similar exercise. Our efforts were judged to be the best from over 1,400 events and we received a major prize from the illustrator Quentin Blake at a ceremony in the British Museum. In 2007 one hundred and eight five visitors, who ranged in age from 2 to 86, responded to dancers and jazz to fill our new gallery with hundreds of drawings.
The department has an excellent track record for students gaining direct entry onto degree courses without the benefit of a foundation course. A number of former students have studied at The Ruskin School of Fine Art and Drawing at the University of Oxford, whilst others have studied fine art, textiles and architecture at leading universities such as Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Falmouth, Bristol, Reading and Newcastle.
The Department is welcoming and friendly but demands hard work and high standards. We strive to ensure that working in the Art Department is a life-enhancing experience and that pupils of all ages and abilities are inspired and motivated. We are always pleased to receive visitors.
Art links on Library page >>