WHAT DO STUDENTS LEARN IN TEXTILES IN KEY STAGE 4?

Students studying Textiles have the opportunity to increase their practical skills and improve their analytical, communication and research abilities. Students will have the chance to design products for woven, knitted, stitched, printed or decorative textiles. 

Areas of study include fashion design and illustration, costume design, constructed textiles, printed and dyed textiles, surface pattern, stitched and/or embellished textiles, soft furnishings and/or textiles for interiors and digital textiles. As this is an art and design based GCSE you will have to draw to develop ideas as a key part of the course. 

HOW WILL STUDENTS LEARN IN THIS COURSE?

During Year 10 students will observe class demonstrations from a specialist textiles teacher in a variety of techniques and media. They will be able to practise immediately with quality materials and media provided by the department. Gradually students will learn to work more independently and gain confidence in taking creative risks.

HOW ARE STUDENTS ASSESSED IN THIS COURSE? 

Students are equally assessed on four assessment objectives;

AO1: Contextual research on artwork from any cultures and from any era.

AO2: Experimentation and development of ideas.

AO3: Recording ideas from observation, memory or imagination.

AO4: Creatively produce final outcomes based on sketchbook work.

Their coursework portfolio contributes 60% to their final grade, the whole exam project is worth 40% of their final grade. Students are assessed internally by Paulet Staff and then a sample of work is externally moderated by AQA.

WHAT IS THE LEARNING SEQUENCE?

In year 10 students will follow structured projects that cover drawing, experimentation with a wide range of media and materials, manipulation of materials and historical and contemporary artistic practice. Students will make final pieces based on their personal choices creatively taken during the project and can be of any size and any technique that the student feels confident utilizing at that stage. Outcomes can be  woven, knitted, stitched, printed or decorative textiles.

All work produced in Year 10 and part of Year 11 forms their coursework portfolio. In January of Year 11 students are given an exam paper with a choice of starting points, students are encouraged to respond independently and creatively to one starting point covering assessment objects AO1-AO3 for a minimum of ten weeks. After the 10 week preparatory period the students will complete their final piece in 10 hours under exam conditions in the art department (two whole days of lessons with breaks).

WHAT QUALIFICATION IS GAINED FROM WHICH EXAM BOARD?

Students will be awarded a grade 1-9 GCSE in Art and Design (endorsed Textiles) with AQA.

LINK TO EXAM BOARD SPECIFICATION

AQA Art and Design

Textiles is an endorsed Art and Design course.

HOW IS IT GRADED? 

Marks are awarded out of 24 for each assessment objective based on the student’s level of skill, their confidence and the consistency with which they progress. The students’ classroom art teacher will provide instant verbal feedback throughout the course and written feedback when necessary to enable students to progress and develop confidence. All coursework and exam work is assessed and moderated internally according to the specification’s criteria. A selection of work is then externally moderated.

WHAT FURTHER EDUCATION AND/OR CAREERS CAN THIS QUALIFICATION LEAD TO? 

Studying Textiles allows students to access a wide range of careers in the creative industries. The ability to observe, examine, contextualise, experiment, develop an idea creatively, be original and work independently are sought after skill sets in any career. Students often go on to study Art or Textiles at A level, Foundation Studies and Degree level helping them work in a wide range of design based careers like fashion design, theatre designer, textiles design, interior design, fashion and media journalism, retail design and exhibition design.