Year 10: Fine Art
Discovering Your Artistic Voice
Students beginning their GCSE Fine Art journey at Thomas Adams embark on an intensive skills-based programme during the autumn term, learning fundamental techniques including drawing with charcoal and oil pastels, painting with watercolour and acrylic, and printmaking through intaglio and monoprinting methods. Students select a personal theme early in the year, which could range from architecture to natural forms, and develop this concept throughout their coursework portfolio, which constitutes 60% of their final grade.
The autumn and spring terms focus heavily on observational work and artist research, with students completing comprehensive observational drawing sheets and developing extensive sketchbook documentation. Students analyse the work of established artists, craftspeople, and designers, creating detailed artist studies that demonstrate their understanding of artistic techniques, cultural contexts, and creative influences. Throughout this period, students must maintain consistent annotation of their work, mounting photographs professionally and developing their artistic vocabulary through written analysis.
Technology integration occurs through Photoshop training and digital manipulation techniques, allowing students to explore contemporary approaches to idea development whilst maintaining connections to traditional artistic practices. Students learn to make meaningful connections between their personal creative responses and the work of established artists, demonstrating how historical and contemporary influences inform their own artistic development.
The summer term culminates in a significant milestone with a five-hour examination that takes place after the Easter holidays. During this supervised assessment, students produce a substantial development piece that demonstrates their ability to work independently under examination conditions whilst making clear connections to their chosen artists. Mobile devices are prohibited during this examination period, ensuring authentic assessment of student capabilities. Following the examination, students evaluate their performance, complete all outstanding annotations, and ensure their portfolio and development work meets the high standards required for Year 11 progression.
Year 10: 3D art
Mastering Three-Dimensional Expression
Students choosing 3D Design Ceramics begin their creative journey with an introduction to the theme of Natural Forms, creating a diverse range of clay models based on natural objects and organic structures. The autumn term provides comprehensive training in fundamental hand-building techniques including pinch pots, slab building, coiling, mould making, throwing, modelling, firing, glazing, and various decorative processes. Students develop technical proficiency whilst exploring the unique properties of clay as an artistic medium.
Alongside practical skills development, students engage with ceramic artists through research and analysis, creating work inspired by established practitioners whilst documenting their investigations in A3 sketchbooks. This combination of practical exploration and contextual understanding ensures students appreciate both the technical and conceptual aspects of ceramic arts, developing their own artistic voice within this rich tradition.
The spring term emphasises personal development and independent research, with students conducting extensive mood board creation, photography, and drawing activities to support their three-dimensional work. Building upon their technical foundations, students focus on experimentation, idea development, and refinement of their ceramic skills. They research appropriate artists independently, exploring how these influences inform their own creative development whilst maintaining detailed documentation of their artistic journey.
During the summer term, students create their final coursework portfolio, carefully selecting their strongest work whilst continuing to develop individual ideas within the Natural Forms theme. This portfolio must demonstrate refinement, modification, discrimination, rigour, realisation of intentions, reviewing processes, and sophisticated composition skills. Students learn to critically evaluate their own work whilst maintaining the highest standards of craftsmanship and creative expression.
Year 11: Fine Art
Achieving Artistic Excellence
Year 11 Fine Art students focus intensively on completing their coursework portfolio whilst preparing for the externally set examination that constitutes 40% of their final grade. The autumn term centres on creating final pieces that demonstrate refinement, modification, discrimination, rigour, and successful realisation of creative intentions. Students create comprehensive design drawings and maquettes whilst ensuring their development work reflects thorough research on appropriate artists, drawing, and photography.
During the spring term, students receive their examination paper and begin developing personal responses to the provided starting points. This preparatory period allows extensive independent research, mood board development, photography, and drawing activities that build upon previously learned processes. Students focus on experimentation, idea development, and technical skill refinement whilst researching suitable artists and documenting their influences through detailed study sheets and ceramic pieces.
The summer term culminates in the ten-hour supervised examination, during which students produce a final three-dimensional piece that demonstrates their comprehensive understanding of artistic processes and creative problem-solving abilities. Following the examination, students complete all refinement work for submission, ensure proper glazing of ceramic pieces, and participate in curating their final exhibition for external moderation.
Year 11: 3D Design
Completing Your Creative Journey
Year 11 Ceramics students concentrate on portfolio completion and examination preparation, creating sophisticated final pieces that demonstrate their technical mastery and creative development. The autumn term involves careful selection and refinement of coursework, with students creating comprehensive design drawings and maquettes supported by thorough artist research, drawing, and photography documentation.
Students receive their externally set examination paper during the spring term, beginning personal development of chosen starting points through independent research, mood board creation, and practical experimentation. They build upon their established technical skills whilst focusing on idea development and refinement, researching appropriate artists and creating detailed study sheets and ceramic pieces for examination submission.
The summer examination period requires students to complete a ten-hour supervised assessment, producing a final three-dimensional response to their chosen starting point. This intensive period demonstrates students’ ability to work independently whilst applying their comprehensive technical and creative skills. Following the examination, students ensure all work meets submission standards, complete glazing processes, and participate in exhibition curation for external moderation.
Contact
The Thomas Adams School
Lowe Hill
Wem
Shropshire
SY4 5UB
Tel: +44 1939 237000