Course Overview
This is an interesting and engaging course to develop your existing art and creative skills and learning experiences, where art, design and craft practice is meaningfully integrated with theoretical knowledge and understanding.
…you love being creative.
…you have a basic level of technique in art acquired at GCSE.
…you want a blend of theoretical and practical study.
..you are interested in following the Creative Arts Pathway or Design and Media Pathway.
Textile Design encompasses an extremely broad range of materials, techniques, and processes. Along with a variety of areas to study such as:
- Design
- Fashion
- Costume
- Interior design
- Textile installation
- Accessory design
Whilst studying an A level in textiles students will gain a deeper understanding of Sustainable textile production techniques. Researching the Welsh textile industry, reflecting on historical and current artists and techniques and developing digital skills needed in pattern making and fashion illustration. Along with the opportunity to work with other creatives on fashion photography shoots and Graphic campaigns.
You’ll spend the first half of the year developing your existing skills and building on techniques and knowledge gained at GCSE. We’ll also challenge you to acquire new skills, work through a design process that covers criteria and analyse artists and artwork.
At the end of this experimental period, you’ll have gained sufficient knowledge and ability to work on your own Personal Creative Enquiry (PCE). This unit of work is based on a working brief/starting point that’ll be discussed with your tutor. You’ll be required to produce a good quality body of work displayed on design sheets, that follow criteria thoroughly and logically, that’ll lead to an outcome of work that’s well informed by artists and artwork, as well as articulating your own ideas/concepts.
A Level Art Building on skills developed in your first year of study, you’ll be required to complete another PCE based project from September to January on a theme that interests you. Again, this’ll be presented on a series of design sheets or a sketchbook of studies as a journal of work documenting ideas that fully realise your ideas/concepts.
During the second half of the year, from February to May, you’ll be working on a controlled element. This’ll be set externally via WJEC.
You’ll be assessed throughout the academic year via formal assessment that’s built into the course. Homework tasks and completion of work will also be assessed and recorded regularly, so you have every opportunity to develop your work as an individual. Informal feedback will be recorded in class sessions and disseminated to you and the relevant teaching staff, so that an accurate assessment and progress record can be charted accordingly.
Upon completion, you’ll gain:
- AS Level Art
- A Level Art
You will have opportunities to participate in Creative masterclasses with chosen universities and take part in enrichment activities and visits to local and London Art Galleries which will promote your interest, engagement and understanding within this creative subject.
AS Level students may continue to develop in the second year of the course in order to gain a whole A Level in this subject. Following completion of the full A Level qualification, students may continue to develop their interest in art by studying a Foundation Degree at university.
To enter the course, you’ll need a minimum of 5 GCSEs, Grades A*-C, to include a minimum of a C grade in Art, Maths/Maths, Numeracy and English/Welsh First Language.
