Art
Our art curriculum is designed to engage, inspire and challenge students to get the very most from their lessons.
Painting, sculpture, and learning about artists from a range of different cultures and periods, all help students to develop a passion for creation through wonderful art lessons.
We’re lucky to have purpose-made art studios, in both our primary and secondary phases, where the students can foster artistic skills and create their own work in a stimulating environment with experts in the field.
Primary art - drawing, collage, painting and more
“I love my art lessons, we’ve been exploring how colours can come together to create different hues.” Annabelle, Year 3
The curriculum starts in Early Years with daily opportunities for students to explore the expressive arts, and builds into a carefully-designed curriculum that builds on skills in drawing, collage, painting, printing, sculpture and textiles.
Each of these strands is built on, with time given to the students for creation and building complexity as they move into the secondary phase.
We then offer the chances for students to share their best pieces in our school gallery for the school to admire.
Secondary art - building knowledge and creativity
At Key Stage 3, we nurture students’ passion for the arts and broaden their cultural understanding. They develop core skills, techniques, and art vocabulary while learning to design, create, research, and experiment across diverse artistic disciplines, building knowledge and creativity throughout their journey.
Year 7 lays the foundation by teaching essential skills, elements, and principles through themes such as You & Art, Colour, Human Form, Landscape, Fantasy, and Still-Life.
In Year 8, students build on this knowledge, developing greater creativity and technical ability through themes such as Architecture, Organic Forms, The Jungle, Abstraction, Sense of Place, and Fashion.
By Year 9, students focus on realising their intentions with independence and proficiency, exploring advanced themes like Multicultural Art, Popular Art & Design, Visual Composition, Symbolism, Dreams & Nightmares, and Art Through Time.
At Key Stage 4 our Art & Design GCSE builds on Key Stage 3 foundations, giving students time to experiment, refine, and develop personal, meaningful work through engaging thematic projects.
Students explore diverse disciplines – drawing, painting, printing, digital media, photography, sculpture, and mixed media – while gaining knowledge and resilience as creative thinkers and problem solvers.
Our approach fosters independence, teamwork, and lifelong appreciation of the arts, preparing students for careers in Britain’s creative industries. Year 10 focuses on exploration and experimentation, while Year 11 emphasises development and consolidation, ensuring readiness for Post-16 opportunities and the world of work.
“My art lessons because they give me a way to express how I feel and think without needing the right words. Art shows everyone’s individuality – you can see people’s personalities, ideas, and emotions in what they create, and that makes every piece unique.” Francesca, Year 11
For further details...
For further details of our primary art curriculum please contact Samantha Fisher.
For further details of our secondary art curriculum please contact David Rose d.rose@harrisgarrard.org.uk.
Click HERE (coming soon) to download the Art curriculum overview.
