Key Stage 3 Art
A programme developing drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics and design skills through the study of artists and movements – from Kate Malone and the St Ives group to Pop Art and Hundertwasser.
We use an active-learning approach in which every unit combines the study of artists with hands-on practice in a wide range of media and techniques. The work suggested for each term is a guide and may change depending on the dynamic of the group, exhibitions showing locally and the weather (for outdoor observational drawing).
Year 7
| Term & Topic | unit knowledge & skills |
|---|---|
| AutumnNatural World: Kate Malone |
Clay Why are so many artists drawn to the natural world? Beginning with the work of ceramicist Kate Malone, students draw natural forms from observation, analyse artwork using key vocabulary, and design and build their own clay coil pot — learning the history of the technique before finishing their piece with colour, pattern and skilfully applied paint. |
| Spring & SummerNatural World: Printmaking |
Printmaking Drawing goes far beyond pencil on paper. Starting with line-and-tone studies of natural forms, students create wire drawings and collaged backgrounds, then explore three types of printmaking — monoprinting, gelli and block printing — refining their compositions towards a final block print, built up in layers and inspired by the natural world. |
| SummerNatural World: Angie Lewin(optional extension project) |
Lino Printing An optional extension exploring the work of Angie Lewin. Using negative and positive space, students draw natural forms from observation, experiment with the basic elements across a variety of media, and develop a set of stylised designs into finished lino prints alive with colour and pattern. |
Year 8
| Term & Topic | unit knowledge & skills |
|---|---|
| Autumn |
Colour Theory & Abstraction What makes colour work? Students master the colour wheel — mixing secondary, tertiary and complementary colours — study an abstract artist, visit an exhibition, and experiment with collage, pastels and textured materials before extending lines from an existing image into a final abstract composition painted on textured surfaces. |
| SpringFood |
Pop Art / Photorealism From photorealism to Pop Art, food has inspired generations of artists. Students draw close-ups in pencil, biro and pastel, photograph and edit compositions of junk and healthy food, and study artists such as Joel Penkman, Sarah Graham and Wayne Thiebaud — combining paint, packaging and photography in a final mixed-media piece. |
| SummerFood |
Commercial Design How do products catch the eye? Analysing packaging, marketing and the work of Pop Artists such as Claes Oldenburg, students design their own innovative commercial product — refining ideas of font and layout, building a large-scale net and painting it with precision to realise a finished 3D design, complete with promotional advert. |
Year 9
| Term & Topic | unit knowledge & skills |
|---|---|
| AutumnSeascapes |
St Ives Artists Light, colour and the sea. Inspired by the St Ives artists and a visit to a local gallery, students make transcriptions and observational drawings of local seascapes, experiment with collage compositions and sophisticated colour mixing, and develop one design into a final painting on canvas or board. |
| Spring |
Portraits Who are you — and how do you show it? Studying self-portraitists from Rembrandt and Van Gogh to Kahlo, Hockney and Chuck Close, students learn facial proportion and the grid technique, photograph themselves exploring different emotions, and produce a large self-portrait in their choice of media that conveys their personal identity. |
| Summer |
Abstract Landscapes Landscape, reimagined. Drawing on Hundertwasser and other artists who abstract the forms of the land, students work from memory, local maps and plans, experimenting with colour and texture in their sketchbooks before developing one design into a final collagraph print. |