ONE-YEAR LANGUAGE COURSES

Dependent on sufficient interest to make these courses viable, the Modern Foreign Language and Classics departments are offering these language courses this year. They are aimed at committed linguists and beginners who would like to get to the equivalent of GCSE standard within a year, thus extending their portfolio of languages.

ab initio Italian / Portuguese

These intensive modern language courses offer the opportunity for pupils to acquire a thorough grounding in the essentials of rudimentary Italian or Portuguese in nine months. There is particular emphasis on the use of everyday colloquial language. From the outset, cultural aspects will play a major part in every lesson and participants will be offered several opportunities to broaden their linguistic prowess and cultural knowledge.

ab initio Classical Greek

This option is aimed at those pupils who love Latin, but for whom Classics is a less viable option at University because of a current lack of Greek. The course focuses on language work, so that over the course of the year pupils can reach GCSE standard to attend Greek Summer School if they wish and make a strong university application for Classics.

This would also be a good option for any pupils looking at Ancient History, where Classical languages boost an application. Ambitious pupils wishing to sit Classical Greek GCSE in the summer would need to learn the set texts (Homer’s Odyssey Book 7 and selections of Herodotus’ Histories) over the Easter holiday, with the aid of material provided by the department. There is also the option of the less demanding IGCC qualification, equivalent to half a GCSE of Greek language and recognised as A level 3 qualification for UCAS purposes, which can be sat in the summer instead.

Clare Westran, Head of Classics

The A level course encourages pupils to develop skills, creativity, imagination, and independence based on personal experience, taught skills and critical understanding. Pupils show this through their responses to a range of stimuli.

The aims and learning outcomes are to enable pupils to develop:

• Intellectual, imaginative, creative and intuitive capabilities

• Investigative, analytical, experimental, practical, technical and expressive skills, aesthetic understanding and critical judgement

• Independence of mind in developing, refining and communicating their own ideas, their own intentions and their own personal outcomes

• The experience of working with a broad range of media

• An understanding of the interrelationships between art, craft and design processes and an awareness of the contexts in which they operate.

Fine Art at Oundle is a vibrant and exciting subject with a reputation for diverse and mature work. The Art course in the Sixth Form is exciting and flexible. It progresses naturally from the philosophies and approaches adopted at GCSE. We encourage and expect pupils to pursue personal paths. There are considerable opportunities open to them in terms of the range and scale of the work they may undertake. Art is a subject that encourages individuals to be creative, reflective, communicative and appreciative of the world around them. Pupils undertake analytical drawing from the model throughout the course.

Pupils must have a genuine interest in, and commitment to, the subject. Pupils spend considerable time outside formal lessons researching, developing ideas and producing studies. Pupils are encouraged to attend a range of talks and discussions on Art at regular Yarrow Society meetings as well as attending exhibitions held in the Yarrow Gallery.

The department keeps in step with the shifting themes and ideas of contemporary art through visits to galleries and museums nationally and internationally. Destinations have included Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam, Florence, Venice and New York. We also have a rich tradition of attracting professional artists to exhibit their work, undertake residencies, run workshops and work one on one with pupils. Recent artists include Jane McAdam Freud (daughter of Lucian Freud), Gigi Solomon and Susan Atwill.

The department has supported pupils with successful applications to the very best art institutions in the UK, including the University of Arts, London, and Glasgow School of Art, as well as further afield.

Caroline Dent Head of Art

Realising Intentions

Pupils will have up to fifteen hours in which to independently realise their response(s).

Pupils are required to provide evidence of all assessment objectives in response to their chosen starting point, brief or stimulus, within the 15hour supervised time period. It is expected that during the supervised time period, pupils will realise their intentions to an outcome(s).

All selected work produced for the component, including the research, planning and development work produced in the preparatory period, must be submitted for assessment.

Assessment

Each assessment objective is worth 25%.

• Develop their ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.

• Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining their ideas as their work develops.

• Record in visual and/or other forms ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, demonstrating an ability to reflect on work and progress.

• Present a personal, informed and meaningful response demonstrating critical understanding, realising intentions and, where appropriate, making connections between visual, oral or other elements.

Content Overview

Component 01: Personal investigation (120/200 marks, 60%)

This component comprises two discrete but linked elements

ELEMENT 1: PRACTICAL PORTFOLIO (96/120 MARKS)

This is a practical portfolio with supporting contextual research in which pupils are expected to develop a personal response based on a set theme leading to a finished realisation(s) or outcome(s). This portfolio will consist of a sustained project, theme or course of study. The pupils should carefully select, organise and present work to ensure that they provide evidence of meeting all four assessment objectives.

Pupils must show they have:

• independently developed ideas through sustained and focused investigations in response to a given starting point

• produced material informed by contextual and other sources that informs the development of their practical work

• explored ideas, techniques, or processes appropriate to their chosen specialism(s)

• recorded observations from sources relevant to intentions

• used their planning and preparation to produce coherent realisation(s)/outcome(s).

ELEMENT 2: RELATED STUDY (24/120 MARKS)

Pupils are required to establish through this written and, where appropriate, illustrated component, the related context in which their chosen practical portfolio exists. This may be established by exploring the genre, subject matter, movement or historical framework of the overarching starting point, course of study or theme selected.

The aim of the related study is to enable pupils to develop their ability to communicate their knowledge and understanding of art historical movements, genres, practitioners and artworks, considering the way that these change and evolve within chronological and other frameworks. It also builds their understanding of the relationship between society and art: art historical terms, concepts and issues; methods of researching, investigating and analysing; and how works are interpreted and evaluated.

The related study should be separate and clearly identifiable from the contextual research embedded in the development of the practical portfolio. Pupils may produce the related study in an appropriate form of which the following are some examples: an illustrated essay, digital presentation/ blog, illustrated study sheets or written report.

Component 02: Externally set task (80/200 marks, 40%)

This paper is given to pupils at on the 1st February in the year of certification. The paper will give pupils a choice of seven themes, each with a choice of written and/or visual starting points, briefs or stimuli. From this paper, pupils are expected to choose one option for which they will generate an appropriate personal response for assessment.

Pupils are required to reach their own judgements and conclusions and must work independently to produce their own personal response. All work must be completed by the designated finishing time. Pupils can continue to work on their preparatory work until the first period of supervised time commences. Pupils must refer to their preparatory work during the supervised 15-hour period.