Art

The Art Department aims to educate and inspire the boys in all matters relating to the visual arts and, as artists we are role models for the students. In the Art Department there is respect for the students' artistic individuality and independence of thought.  From the start, we respect the work of our students : they may be inexperienced but, without exception, they all have the power of originality.  Suitably inspired, boys are able to produce work of a quality comparable to any and second to none.

All teachers and members of staff are practising artists. This is integral to our ethos and informs our working practice. The students see us creating our own work, failing and succeeding as they do...thus de-mystifying the process of making Art and giving them some insight into the way that Art is created.

Art is taught to all boys in their first year. They are introduced to all the facilities in the department as a basic foundation course including drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography and ceramics. Thereafter Art becomes an optional subject for study at GCSE. All other boys have the Art School facilities to use as a hobby and many do take advantage of the opportunity, particularly in weekly "activity" slots.

Because of the spontaneous and often unexpected nature of Art teaching it is felt that a prescribed and formulaic approach is not appropriate and does not lead to exciting and dynamic work being produced. Each teacher within the department is encouraged to develop a Scheme of Work that is open ended and responds to the emerging needs of the group and/or individual student, and as such cannot necessarily be planned months or even weeks in advance. It is a system of teaching that is built on trust, with each teacher being fully aware of the academic and educational needs of the students and being responsible for delivering a well-rounded and complete education.

At the core of all our teaching are the four Assessment Objectives that are laid out by the exam boards.

Central to all exam teaching is the development of a body of Supporting Work whether in the form of folders, work sheets or sketchbooks. Within these all students are encouraged and expected to develop their ideas, present the processes they have been exposed to, make personal responses to their work and the work of others.

The younger and less experienced a student is the more prescribed the teaching will be and teachers will set specific tasks for the students. As the student becomes more experienced in the development of ideas the work becomes less prescribed. By the time the students are in the Sixth Form the students should be disciplined and experienced enough for development work to be integral to their working practice, although teachers will monitor each individual to make sure that this is the case.

For GCSE we follow the OCR examing board course and for AS/A2 we use the Edexcel course.

The Staff

There are two full time teachers in the Art Department, two part-time teachers (50% each), a full time studio technician, a free-lance gallery technician and a part time librarian.

Artist-in-Residence: Throughout the Michaelmas Term the department employs an Artist-in-Residence to run workshops for Tonbridge School students and schools in the local community. In 2009 the AiR will be Jo de Pear, a printmaker from London

• Full Staff list

Beyond the Curriculum

The 'open-access' nature of the department means that there is always a certain amount of extra-curricular work going on. Boys will often come in to pursue some interest of their own during 'Pursuits' periods or in their free time. There are also organised events, usually within Societies. The Department is open until 6pm Mon-Fri and from 3-6pm on Sunday afternoons.

Life Drawing

There are Life Classes held between 2.00pm and 4.00pm on every Wednesday and on Monday evenings. This is seen as an ideal way to develop the students' abilities to understand the visual world. All AS and A Level Art students are obliged to do life drawing, whether as part of the Activities programme on a Wednesday or on Monday evening. The Monday session is open to all students in the school (2nd year upwards) and staff.

Exhibitions

The school has it's own exhibiting space, The Tunnel Gallery, where up to 13 exhibitions are held every year.

The Turner Society

The Turner Society helps curate and organise exhibitions in the Tunnel Gallery. Usually the boys involved are in the Sixth Form and are Art students, and thinking about pursuing a career in the Arts. These exhibitions involve visiting artists as well as boys and there are up to 15 exhibitions every year. Members of the Turner Society man the bar and offer refreshments.

Every year the Turner Society also aims to invite a speaker or visiting artist to speak to staff and boys about some aspect of Art or Art History.

The Art Society

The Art Society provides another formal meeting time for boys interested in the Arts. The Society meets between 4.30 and 6pm on Monday afternoons and the teachers take it in turns to teach them skills and techniques. All 1st and 2nd Yr Art Scholars are expected to attend.

Gallery and Residential Visits

Relevant Links

• Vere Hodge Centre
  The Art Facilities
  (Resources And Facilities > Vere Hodge Centre)
• Scholarships
  Information about art scholarships
  (Admissions > Scholarships)