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Art
Vision statement
Art education the Swan School is dedicated to fostering creativity, resilience, and visual literacy. We believe that every student possesses a unique creative voice, and our mission is to provide them with the tools and confidence to express it.
Our curriculum is built on a foundation of diverse practical and technical skills. Students explore a wide range of media, from traditional drawing, painting and collage, and at GCSE, printmaking, digital photography and relief work. By mastering these techniques, they learn to translate complex ideas into powerful visual outcomes.
Students in key stage three can expect to visit a museum or art gallery. For GCSE art students, a programme of visits to the Pitt Rivers Museum, Modern Art Oxford, and a residential trip to St Ives is becoming an established part of the course.
Enquiry is at the heart of our practice. We integrate a deep understanding and knowledge of art history into every project, encouraging students to analyse the cultural and social contexts of artists from the past and present. This critical engagement helps them understand their place in the world and informs their own evolving practice. We aim to inspire a lifelong passion for the arts and prepare students for a rapidly changing creative landscape.
Our Students on Art
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‘I’ve learnt so much in my art lessons and my art has improved a lot. I can’t wait for GCSE art!’
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‘The art trip to St Ives is the best school trip I’ve ever been on.’
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‘I always feel like I can ask for advice and the teachers’ genuine engagement with our work and ideas is really appreciated.’
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‘I can draw facial features more realistically and draw perspective more accurately because of my art lessons.’
A typical Art lesson
A typical lesson for a key stage three student will start with a retrieval activity that recalls knowledge from previous lessons or helps to practice and refine a practical or technical skill. After that, deliberately sequenced activities provide the stages for completing sustained work.
For students in key stages four and five, students work on sustained projects for which they are given a framework but are able to personalise and develop individually.
