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Art is a popular A Level at Castle with the art studios filled to capacity. Results are high, with between 60-65% of students achieving grades in the A-B range, over 80% of students receiving grades in the A-C range, as well as 100% pass rate.

We like to think that Art at Castle is a little bit special. The way we work is far closer to an Art College than a school – studio space instead of classrooms, tutors instead of teachers, individual exploration and artistic growth instead of lessons. Our approach is to treat you as an artist rather than student. Although there is a lot to learn, artistic development happens rapidly and naturally due to the studio atmosphere. Here you will be thrown into a creative greenhouse with other students working towards the same aim of artistic excellence and individual creative expression. The work, ranging from traditional observational study through to challenging experimental work, is demanding, rewarding and intense.

A Level

A Level is now a two year course. In the first year, you will be working on a variety of projects towards an AS award. In the second year you can choose if you would like to take your studies further and obtain the full A Level award. Each year is split into three Units, each unit aims to develop a particular aspect of artistic development. The course is almost entirely practical, but this does not mean that it is not intellectually demanding. Students study practical skills, their own emerging creative expression, critical understanding of art and its cultural/historical context. The A Level provides the structural framework for you to develop freely as a creative artist.

The AS Qualification is divided into two practical coursework units and one examination unit.

Unit 1 – Focuses on observational skills, understanding of visual language and practical responses with media. In this Unit, students gather evidence of how well they understand what they see and how they respond practically.

Unit 2 – Focuses on what the student understands about art and the work of artists from different times and cultures. It also looks at the development of the student’s own ideas in relationship to their contextual understanding.

Unit 3 – Is the exam. The exam should be seen as a third piece of practical work – the way the unit is structured is the same as the two coursework units. The only differences are that the exam is in a shorter more structured time period and students work from a list of starting points.

A2 Level is where students really mature as artists. This is where students discover and mature their major themes – where they discover their artistic voice. Again there are two coursework units and one exam unit.

Unit 4 – Is where students develop their own practical work and write their own coursework around their own ideas and needs. Students explore their own ideas and develop their major piece of practical work.

Unit 5/6 – It where students choose a theme to research and develop their own work from. Again this unit leads to students developing and exploring their own practical work, but here the starting point is research.

Unit 7 – This is the final exam. As with unit 3, it is an opportunity for students to show how they can respond practically to a given starting point.