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Art & Photography

Our Ambition: An Art School in School

At Harris Academy Wimbledon, our ambition is to create an “Art School in School” — a department that reflects the depth, discipline, and creative culture of specialist art education within a fully inclusive mainstream setting.

From Year 7 through to A Level, pupils experience Art and Photography as a coherent creative journey, built around high expectations, intellectual rigour, and purposeful making. The curriculum is designed so that pupils learn not only how to make art, but how to think, work, and reflect like artists.

This ambition underpins curriculum design, lesson structure, assessment, and enrichment across all key stages.

Curriculum Intent

Our Art & Photography curriculum is designed to ensure that all pupils:

learn to observe carefully and record the visual world with accuracy and confidence
gain technical fluency across a wide range of materials, tools, and processes
develop ideas with intention and independence, rather than rushing outcomes
understand how artists use visual language to communicate meaning
reflect critically on their work and use feedback to improve

Across all key stages, creativity is treated as a serious, disciplined practice, rooted in knowledge, skill, and sustained effort.

Key Stage 3 (Years 7–9): Building the Art School Foundations

Key Stage 3 establishes the foundations of our Art School in School ethos. Pupils are taught to work in a studio-like way from the outset, with clear expectations around focus, care, reflection, and pride in outcomes.

Year 7 – Foundations in Seeing, Making and Responding

In Year 7, pupils develop confidence with the core building blocks of visual art. They learn how to look closely, record what they see, and experiment safely with materials.

Pupils explore:

observational drawing (contour, tone, texture, still life)
colour theory (primary, secondary, complementary colours)
abstraction and pattern inspired by artists
clay relief, printmaking, and photographic processes
reflection through structured evaluation and improvement

The focus in Year 7 is on curiosity, confidence, and foundational skill-building, ensuring all pupils have a secure starting point.

Year 8 – Developing Independence and Meaning

In Year 8, pupils begin to make more purposeful creative decisions. Skills are revisited in new contexts, and pupils are encouraged to think about meaning, symbolism, and expression.

Pupils develop work through:

expressive landscapes and colour-led compositions
figurative and proportional drawing
sculptural and symbolic clay work
printmaking as a creative process
projects exploring identity, narrative, and symbolism

Year 8 strengthens independence and resilience, helping pupils understand that strong artwork is the result of choices, refinement, and reflection.

Year 9 – Bridging to GCSE

Year 9 functions as a KS3 capstone and GCSE bridge. Pupils work with greater discipline and sustain focus across longer, more demanding projects.

Learning includes:

classical and sustained observational drawing
alternative ways of seeing (negative space, expressive mark-making)
material exploration through painting, printmaking, and mixed media
art as communication, including protest and symbolic work
planning, refining, and evaluating outcomes

By the end of Year 9, pupils are familiar with the habits of successful artists: independence, ambition, reflection, and technical confidence.

Assessment Across Key Stage 3

Assessment at KS3 is formative, reflective, and improvement-focused.

Each term, pupils:

identify What Went Well (WWW)
identify Even Better If (EBI) targets
receive a teacher assessment
complete a “Try Now” task to act on feedback

This ensures assessment leads to visible progress and prepares pupils for the reflective demands of GCSE.

Key Stage 4 (GCSE Art & GCSE Photography): Developing a Personal Practice

At GCSE, the Art School in School ethos becomes fully embedded. Pupils develop sustained personal projects rooted in experimentation, refinement, and critical thinking.

GCSE Art & Design

GCSE Art focuses on:

developing ideas over time
investigating artists and contexts meaningfully
refining techniques across drawing, painting, sculpture, and mixed media
producing resolved final outcomes supported by strong sketchbook work

Teaching is enriched through studio-style workshops, allowing pupils to:

test ideas rapidly
experience specialist processes
take creative risks
refine work beyond standard lesson formats

Expectations are high: pupils are expected to plan carefully, work independently, respond to feedback, and refine repeatedly. Outcomes reflect strong progress and achievement.

GCSE Photography

GCSE Photography is taught as a disciplined visual practice, not simply image capture.

Pupils learn:

composition, lighting, and viewpoint
digital and analogue photographic processes
how images communicate narrative, identity, and meaning
how to analyse and evaluate photographic work

Workshops include:

studio lighting and portraiture
experimental darkroom processes
cyanotypes and alternative photography
digital editing and sequencing

High expectations around presentation, annotation, and refinement ensure pupils produce purposeful, well-considered work.

Key Stage 5 (A Level Art & Design): Studio Practice and Independence

A Level Art represents the fullest expression of our Art School in School ambition.

Students work with a high degree of independence, developing ambitious personal investigations supported by:

sustained research and experimentation
extended drawing and material workshops
interdisciplinary approaches across 2D, 3D and lens-based media
critical discussion and written analysis

Teaching is workshop-led and studio-based, closely mirroring higher education art courses. Students are treated as emerging artists and challenged to justify decisions, refine rigorously, and work to a professional standard.

Outcomes reflect this ambition, with students achieving strong results and progressing to creative, academic, and professional destinations.

High Expectations, Achievement and Impact

Across all key stages, Art & Photography at Harris Academy Wimbledon is underpinned by high expectations.

Pupils are expected to:

take pride in their work
work with focus and resilience
reflect critically and act on feedback
develop independence and ambition

Achievement is celebrated through exhibitions, displays, workshops, and enrichment opportunities. Pupils leave the department with strong visual literacy, creative confidence, and an understanding that creativity is a rigorous, valuable discipline.

A Coherent Creative Journey

From Year 7 to A Level, pupils experience a joined-up, carefully sequenced curriculum that builds skill, knowledge, confidence, and independence over time.

Our commitment to building an Art School in School ensures that: