Introduction

Welcome to our International GCSE Art and Design (Fine Art) course. This guide explains how the course is structured, how your work will be assessed and how to get the most out of your studies, so please read it carefully before you start. 

This Fine Art course provides an excellent grounding in the fundamental skills of drawing and painting, whilst also encompassing photography, mixed media, printing and sculpture. Fine art can be defined as “work developed primarily to communicate aesthetic, intellectual or purely conceptual ideas… rather than to serve a practical or commercial function” (International GCSE Art & Design (9-1) Specification, Pearson). During the course you will draw on personal experiences and ideas as well as recording observations of people, things and places. You will learn and practise formal techniques such as mark-making as well as doing artist research and investigating different characteristics of materials such as wet, dry, malleable or digital. Throughout the course you will document your journey of artistic exploration and growth by means of an ePortfolio. 

This course leads you step-by-step through the two-year syllabus using videos, web links, practical exercises and assignments. You will work through the online modules at a pace that ensures you keep to your assignment schedule.. However, as well as a welcome call with your tutor at the start of the course, you will also have five further video calls at strategic points during the course so that your tutor can see and discuss your work with you face to face. 

This course has two fundamental components:  

  1. A personal portfolio which you compile from work on a theme that you choose from a list provided by Wolsey Hall. During this project you will have opportunities to: 
    • develop and explore ideas; 
    • research primary and contextual sources;
    • experiment with media, materials, techniques and processes; 
    • present a personal response to the chosen theme. 
  2. An externally-set assignment on a theme that is announced by the exam board in January of your second year of study. You will have several weeks to prepare for this assignment before you undertake ten hours of invigilated work to produce your final submission. 

All the art tutors on this course have taught art for many years and have worked with students of all abilities - so don’t be shy about asking any questions! Many are working artists themselves. Your assigned tutor will give you detailed feedback to help you progress steadily through the course and achieve your best result possible. 

So, ask yourself:  

  • Am I willing to take risks and explore the potential of different media and techniques? 
  • Am I keen to develop and improve my art skills by practising in as many opportunities possible? 
  • Am I interested to learn about artists whose work inspires me and to know what context and culture has shaped them? 
  • Does it excite me to take art seriously and consider how I might progress in the future? 

If so, then you are ready for this Fine Art course!