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The Creative Arts Department of Queen Katharine Academy is dedicated to nurturing critical thinking and visual literacy through an engaging and supportive studio environment. Our curriculum is designed to foster independence through differentiated and self-directed work. We develop a lifelong aptitude and desire to learn, explore, create, and invent. We encourage students to experiment, persevere and arrive at their own unique solution while promoting skill building, discovery, and innovation. Incorporating art history and contemporary art into the curriculum exposes students to global awareness and viewpoints other than their own. Working in a collaborative peer-learning environment, students develop creative problem-solving skills, self-expression, and visual literacy. We help students to dream that they are capable and believe that we as a department will nurture their skills and together that students will achieve their fullest potential. 

  

Welcome to the Queen Katharine Academy Creative Arts Department. 

As you can see from our vision and mission statement our students and their success is at the heart of what we do. 

A successful art department is measured by the success of its student’s creativity. Our core purpose is for more of our students to dream and believe that they can fulfil their potential 

Teaching and Learning: 

We are committed to developing the quality of our teaching and learning as our core purpose. We will be a source for the promotion of inspirational teaching, creativity, and high-level thinking. 

As teachers we will raise standards, expectations, achievement, and aspiration among our students by: 

  • Offering full access to an exciting, challenging, and relevant curriculum that will prepare our students for the rigours and demands of the new GCSE course and specification. 
  • Challenging and supporting all students to enable them to progress and reach their full potential. 
  • Structure and plan our curriculum, resources, and lessons to foster fluency, resilience, mastery, self-confidence, reasoning, and creative problem solving.  
  • To allow opportunities for our students to become independent and lifelong learners and have an appreciation for art.  

Why Study Textiles? 

Textiles is ideal for students who enjoy practical work such as drawing, designing, and physically making things. While some written, critical, and analytical skills are required, the emphasis of the course is on practical work. Throughout the course students will be expected to work individually, and in groups, producing drawings and photographs, creating design work, experimenting with samples in a range of media, researching relevant designers and design movements, developing ideas to final pieces, and presenting work professionally. The course is supported by visits to exhibitions to see professional work at first hand. 

Aims / Objectives 

In Textiles the aim is to: 

  • To stimulate interest in the outside world and how it has been designed 

  • To excite students about making things 

  • To challenge what we think we know. 

  

“Do not be afraid to take time to learn. It is good to work for other people. I worked for others for 20 years. They paid me to learn.”   - Vera Wang 

“Fashion is very important. It is life-enhancing and, like everything that gives pleasure, it is worth doing well.”  - Vivienne Westwood 

Curriculum Intent 

Students experience a structured approach to the teaching of Textiles which focuses on continuity, progression, breadth of experience and high expectations. Our schemes of work have been developed along a theme that follows a brief to give the students a realistic experience of working towards a customer’s requirements. 

In Years 7 and 8 students focus on the basics of design and making. Projects are based on a theme each time with homework being set each alternate week. Homework is usually literacy based with one major research piece. 

Finished work is evaluated and students decide where improvements can be made in future pieces. Work is displayed in the room and in a variety of venues around the academy. 

 

Key Stage 3 

How does the KS3 curriculum build on that from KS2?

Most students arrive with little or no prior knowledge of Textiles, so we are effectively starting from scratch, with safety and machine skills being taught to all. A variety of techniques are taught each year, so when students get to Key Stage 4, they have a good base to continue with Textiles if they choose to. 

 

What do students do with this knowledge or these skills?

Students in each Year group learn new skills which they sample and experiment with, then use in a final piece which is photographed for their book, with the physical object being taken home 

 

How does the KS3 curriculum align to the National Curriculum?

Students experience a structured approach to the teaching of Textiles which focuses on continuity, progression, breadth of experience and high expectations. Our schemes of work have been developed along a theme that follows a brief to give the students a realistic experience of working towards a customer’s requirements. 

In Years 7 and 8 students focus on the basics of design and making. Projects are based on a theme each time with homework being set each alternate week. Homework is usually literacy based with one major research piece. 

Finished work is evaluated and students decide where improvements can be made in future pieces. Work is displayed in the room and in a variety of venues around the academy 

 

What new knowledge or skills are students taught?
Term Year 7 Year 8 Year 9
Rotation  
12 lessons 

Sewing machine control/skills/threading up 

Hand stitching 

Drawing 

Mood boards 

Design ideas 

Final piece 

Re-establish sewing skills 

Portrait drawing/stitching 

Tie Dying 

Applique 

Drawing from sources 

Screen printing 

Machine sewing  

Cushion making/bagging out 

Rationale for this sequencing  To expose the students to age-appropriate techniques, producing a variety of work to encourage independence, and free thought. 

 

Key Stage 4 

In year 10 students can progress onto a GCSE course that is art and design based, but all outcomes are textile products. A wide variety of experiences and techniques are approached in year 10, so that in year 11 a major project can bring all these learned skills together. All students begin under the theme of the Sea that they can then refer to as their projects later progress. The exam is a practical one over 10 hours where a final product will be made from scratch 

Key Stage 5 

At AS level students will consider a broad range of artists and designers and respond using art and textiles techniques. They will then build on these experiences to design their own piece around the theme of texture. At A2 level, students are encouraged to become much more independent and choose their own theme or issue to investigate which will lead the direction of their work. A written piece between 1000 and 3000 words must also be produced that tracks their influences and the way their ideas have developed. Over the years that this course has been running we have had some exceptionally good success stories with many going on to study fashion or textiles at university. Two of our students have this year secured places for Costume design. 

 

Staffing 

Mrs S Erwin (Head of faculty)  Sara.Erwin@qka.education 
Mrs J Hamaali (Deputy Head of faculty)  Joanna.Hamaali@qka.education 

Ms H Collins  Heather.Collins@qka.education
Ms A Howard  Amanda.Howard@qka.education