GCSE Art and Design Specification Specification for first teaching in 2016
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Vibrant and dynamic, this specification will give you the freedom to teach GCSE Art and Design in ways that inspire and bring out the best in all your students, whilst equipping them with the skills to continue the subject with confidence at AS, A-level and beyond.
The qualification features a wide range of titles including Art, craft and design, Fine art, Graphic communication, Textile design, Three-dimensional design and Photography. The flexibility of its design means you can tailor your course to your students’ interests and your school’s strengths.
You can find out about all our Art and Design qualifications at aqa.org.uk/art-and-design
We have worked closely with teachers to design our specification to inspire, challenge and motivate every student, no matter what their level of ability, while supporting you in developing creative and engaging lessons.
The qualification provides scope for innovation and curriculum development and offers you opportunities to tailor courses of study to the individual needs of your students.
With two components, comprising a ‘Portfolio’ selected from the course of study and an ‘Externally set assignment’, the specification provides your students with a range of creative, exciting and stimulating opportunities to develop and explore their personal interests in art and design.
It allows for progression from Key Stage 3 whilst providing a strong foundation for further study at AS and A-level as well as vocational pathways. To support this progression, the assessment objectives, structure and titles are very similar to those detailed in the AS and A-level Art and Design specification.
There is a full range of options open to you and your students through the course titles, which allow for the study of art and design in both breadth and depth. Portfolio projects, assignments or briefs can be open-ended or more narrowly focused. There is no restriction on the choice of media, scale or format that students use to reflect and evidence their submissions.
We have retained a similar approach to the choice and flexibility seen in the current externally set assignment papers, with the same number of starting points offered under each title. Some will be open in nature, others will have a greater degree of prescription.
The specification has been designed to allow students to develop knowledge and understanding during the course through a variety of learning experiences and approaches, including engagement with sources. This will allow them to develop the skills to explore, create and communicate their own ideas.
Students will demonstrate these skills through the development, refinement, recording, realisation and presentation of their ideas through a portfolio and by responding to an externally set assignment.
Our moderation and standardisation processes have been developed to ensure assessment is fair and consistent: with AQA you can rest assured that your students will receive the grade that fairly represents their attainment and reflects the skills that they have demonstrated.
We are committed to the partnership we have developed with teachers and will continue to offer a comprehensive range of support and provision for you and your students.
AQA is a registered charity. We have no shareholders to pay. We exist solely for the good of education in the United Kingdom (UK). Any surplus income is ploughed back into educational research and our service to you.
We know that support and resources are vital for your teaching and that you have limited time to find or develop good quality materials. So we’ve worked with experienced teachers to provide you with a range of resources that will help you confidently plan, teach and prepare for assessments.
Visit aqa.org.uk/8201 to see all our teaching resources. They include:
To find out more about our support service visit http://www.aqa.org.uk/art-and-design
Visit aqa.org.uk/8201 for everything you need to prepare for our assessment, including:
We've replaced Enhanced Results Analysis (ERA) with a new platform – Data Insights. It does the same things as ERA – and more.
Find out which questions were the most challenging, how the results compare to previous years and where your students need to improve. Data Insights, our free online results analysis tool, will help you see where to focus your teaching. Find out more at aqa.org.uk/data-insights
For information about results, including maintaining standards over time, grade boundaries and our post-results services, visit aqa.org.uk/results
Time in the classroom is precious, but we understand that as your career develops, the skills and knowledge you need may change. As well as subject-specific training, we offer a range of courses to help boost your skills.
This is just the start . Our events calendar is full of different ways for you to learn, understand and be inspired. Find out more at aqa.org.uk/professional-development .
Visit our website for information, guidance, support and resources at aqa.org.uk/8201
If you'd like us to share news and information about this qualification, sign up for emails and updates at aqa.org.uk/keepinformed-art-and-design
Alternatively, you can call or email our subject team direct.
T: 01483 437 750