Art and Design

Art and Design is a popular and successful subject at Ipswich School. We inspire our students to go on to study Foundation, Fine Art, Fashion or
Textiles, Architecture, Graphic Design and Product Design degrees when they leave. Studio space is available throughout the day for all A Level students.

Galleries

Lower School

Class work is based on themes that cover the basic elements of line, shape, colour, tone and texture. Pupils enjoy working with a range of materials including paint, print, drawing, collage, mixed media, ceramics, sculpture, textiles and ICT. Trips to Ipswich Museum and local galleries are built into lesson time. The popular Sketchbook Challenge at the end of the summer term provides the perfect end to an exciting year!

Middle School

The Edexcel GCSE course encourages an adventurous and enquiring approach to Art using powers of observation and analytical skills. Projects build on skills gained earlier in the school. Pupils study drawing and painting techniques, printmaking, digital manipulation, textiles and sculpture, some pupils may specialise in one of these areas. At the end of Year 11 there is a GCSE exhibition which is a celebration of the pupils’ work. We aim to make pupils confident, expressive and independent artists, whose work is fuelled by their passions and experiences in life.

Sixth Form

Drawing is a vital part of all projects undertaken across all years. We strive to improve students’ drawing skills through imaginative tasks and stimulating workshops and to ignite in them a passion for drawing. From September all students are involved in a still-life project based on installations created by Art staff during the summer holiday. This enables the students to create different outcomes based on direct observation. This is challenging and exciting for all and provides a lively and enjoyable start to the course. During the year students experience art first-hand by visiting galleries and working with our artist-in-residence.

Through expressive and theoretical studies the A Level course offered by Edexcel in Art and Design leads to a fuller understanding of the visual arts. Emphasis is put on the importance of recording the creative process through samples and a work journal tracking the development of ideas.

The course encourages experimentation in Year 12, so the year is full of practical workshops and ends in students being able to demonstrate an understanding of past and contemporary art and design practice. Year 13 builds on these skills as students specialise and focus on a personal theme. They have the opportunity to attend life classes after school – a valuable and memorable experience. The A Level Art Show marks a celebration of their achievement.

Exam results

The average of the results in Art over the most recent three year period (2024, 2023, 2022) is:

GCSE
921%
9-850%
9-776%
9-4100%
A Level
A*52%
A* – A 65%
A* – B88%