To succeed in Art & Design you have to be a determined individual and willing to take creative risks.  You should be confident in your abilities to communicate and problem solve. It allows you to develop these abilities by producing artwork which requires thought, imagination and confidence in your own particular skillset and talent.  This subject is designed to give you the opportunity to express yourself and work creatively with a variety of materials in a satisfying and enjoyable way.   

Core Skills 

Drawing and painting, computer literacy, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Planning and Organising, Reviewing and Evaluating.  Art and Design allows you to be imaginative in finding creative ways of presenting your ideas and finding out more about aspects of the work you are doing in class.  Research and reading will be a part of the courses.  

National 3, 4 & 5

Pupils will learn about:

• Expressive Folio – you develop and produce a fully resolved idea which has a painting or sculpture as an outcome.  Typical examples are portraits, still-life and landscapes.  
• Design Folio – you develop and produce a project which has a designed concept as an outcome. Typical examples are graphics, millinery and costume. 

The Expressive and the Design Units are monitored by your teacher to check ongoing progress for folio development.  To achieve a Course award you also require: 

National 3/4 – The Added Value Unit which consists of a final Expressive artwork and a final Design prototype.  These are assessed Pass/Fail by your teacher.

• National 3/4 – The Added Value Unit which consists of a final Expressive artwork and a final Design prototype.  These are assessed Pass/Fail by your teacher.  
• National 3/4 – The Added Value Unit which consists of a final Expressive artwork and a final Design prototype.  These are assessed Pass/Fail by your teacher.  
• National 5 – A final Expressive artwork (100 marks), a final Design prototype (100 marks) and sit a written exam which is worth 50 marks.  These are all externally assessed and graded by SQA. 

Homework and revision materials are available on the dedicated Microsoft Teams pages that pupils are added to if studying these courses.

NPA Painting

We offer the National Progression Award in Painting as an alternative to National 5 for pupils to ensure pupils are challenged and presented at the highest level possible to them.  This is a level 4.5 and work produced is of the same standard as National 5 but with a focus only on painting and application and the course has no exam. 

This makes it perfect for those who have already achieved National 5 and are not quite ready for Higher, or for pupils as an alternative to National 4. 

We offer this in tandem with our other classes rather than as a discreet subject and your art teacher will help you decide if this is the right option for you. 

Higher

The Higher course is designed to build on existing skills and allows a greater level of autonomy in the direction of the projects.  The work completed can help form a folio for entry into further education such as Art School or Design College.   

There is a greater level of dexterity required and a willingness to explore creative ideas and concepts with a level of critical enquiry that will produce exciting and unique work.   

There are two areas of work in this subject: 

• Expressive Folio – you will investigate a theme and use source material and other sources of inspiration to produce artwork which shows development of an idea for a painting or sculpture and then produce the final outcome as a fully resolved and evaluated piece. 
• Design Folio – you will choose a genre of design; identify a market and produce a project in response to a Design Brief which fully considers the relevant design issues and produce a prototype of the object as an outcome.  

Assessment 

The course award is based on the question paper and external assessment of the folios. 

You will complete a written exam detailing your comprehension of the visual elements and design issues within specific examples and your chosen areas of study.   

These are all externally assessed and graded by SQA. 

Everyone follows the same subject structure.  It is your ideas and imagination which make the artwork personal and unique.  Pupils who do well in Higher Art and Design are those who try to do their best, work to deadlines and, importantly, enjoy producing artwork. 

Advanced Higher

Why Study Advanced Higher Art and Design? 

Art and Design celebrates and encourages your creativity, opinions and talents.  It allows you to develop these abilities by producing artwork which requires thought, imagination and skill.  Advance Higher challenges you to explore your own ideas and skills with unparalleled autonomy and freedom of direction.  The subject is designed to give you the opportunity to express your thoughts, concepts and ideas while working creatively with a variety of materials in a satisfying and enjoyable way.  You will spend months delving into research and inspiration to produce a body of work that is focussed, unique and testament to your creativity and ability.

There are two units of work in this subject.  The first unit is practical, and the second unit is extended research into the work of artists or designers, analysing their work and reflecting on its impact on your own practice.

For the externally assessed course work you will produce a folio on one strand identified in your unit work where you develop and produce outcomes on one of those strands.  You will also write an extended essay on two of your artists/designers. 

You can choose to study either of the below:

• Art and Design: Expressive
• Art and Design: Design

Assessment 

There is no exam, but every piece of work you produce counts toward your overall assessment.  The Expressive and Design folios and the essays are sent to SQA for marking.  They are looking for artwork which is mature, interesting and skilful.  It should also show evidence of a sustained development of a theme through sketches, drawings, ideas and high quality finished artwork.  No problem if you have passed Higher and enjoy being creative.