Course Structure – Diagnostic

There is a compulsory diagnostic element to the Foundation Course prior to specialisation, usually lasting 11 weeks, during which students undertake a series of short projects designed to introduce a number of possible approaches to the practice of Art and Design as well as providing inductions into various technical processes. This programme, indispensable for the majority of students who are, at this stage, unsure about which subjects they wish to develop on further courses, is also an invaluable learning and broadening experience for those already committed to a particular subject area.

Timetabled elements in the Autumn Term typically include:

• Introduction to Painting – delivered by both in-house and visiting staff.
• Introduction to Sculpture – a collaborative installation project and a public art project, modelmaking and an introduction to the use of various materials.
• Casting – an introduction to various casting processes.
• Design projects, including text and image, fashion design and 3D design projects relating to jewellery and furniture.
• Printmaking – concentrating on etching and silk-screen processes.
• Film-based photography and dark room processing.
• Glass – sandblasting, slumping, fusing, leading etc.
• Introduction to various computer design programs and digital imaging.
• Drawing projects – including life drawing, materials and mark-making, geometry and perspective.
• Colour Theory – a survey of the historical development and current theories about colour including practical exercises designed to test the most important ideas.
• Research – projects that introduce approaches to research methodology and which involve study visits. An important aspect of these sessions is sketchbook development.
• Art and Design History – lectures, seminars and visits to exhibitions. The Art History programme requires the submission of an essay half way through the second term. This essay, the subject of which is negotiated with our Humanities staff, is marked and the grade achieved is included in the general assessment.

Course Structure – Specialisation

Once specialisation occurs (usually two weeks before the end of the first term) students are allocated their own studio space and are able to develop their interests as they emerge at a deeper and more sustained level. This means that staff have to manage small groups of students developing work across a fairly broad range of disciplines. During this phase of the course all the facilities and technical staff that the school has become a resource. We have good printmaking facilities, a wood workshop, a metal workshop, a glass workshop, a plaster room, a kiln, a computer room, a darkroom, a drawing studio and a library. Students can also attend talks given by visiting artists as part of the general Humanities programme.

One of the main priorities for most Foundation students is to develop their work and ideas to a high enough level to be able to demonstrate their personal commitment to their chosen subject areas and that they have the potential to sustain further courses. The course structure during this period is not so obviously regimented as during the diagnostic phase of the programme and staff are constantly aware of the need to inculcate and progressively promote an attitude of individual responsibility towards the self-motivated, student-centred, learning that is required for entry into and successful negotiation of further courses, as well as subsequent careers. The Foundation course is genuinely a preparatory course and we will have, for instance, fashion students researching their subject and designing and making garments in a general design studio alongside students working on interior design or theatre design projects. This may contrast with many of the larger Foundation Courses where there is, of practical or logistic necessity, more segregation between the different subject areas but our staff, many of whom have extensive experience of a variety of teaching contexts, see cross fertilisation between the various disciplines as a productive and positive aspect of the course. Whatever subject students are concentrating on we try to maintain flexibility as to how our students are able to use the school and our staff.

Tutorial Support

Each student is allocated a personal tutor and is required to attend a formal tutorial review of their progress within the course each term. A tutorial report form is completed by the member of staff after each of these meetings. The purpose of these sessions is not only to review progress, however, but also to advise students on all matters relating to their intended progression: choice of subject and further courses, management of applications and interviews, preparation of portfolios, writing of personal statements and so on. In addition to these sessions informal tutorials take place on a daily basis, something that can only happen in the way that it does because of our continuing maintenance of high staff/student ratios and the consequent availability of a range of staff for this purpose. The personal tutor allocated to an individual student may change after specialisation to a member of staff whose area of professional expertise mirrors as closely as is feasible the subject choice of that student.

Assessment

The project report form for the diagnostic period requires that for each project a student is given one grade to indicate his or her performance and achievement. As this part of the course is essentially modular in character the member of staff managing each project assesses the component delivered. The final, summative, assessment grades are calculated as an average of all submitted grades.

Assessment for the specialisation phases of the Course is different in character to that of the first part of the course and is undertaken by a panel of specialist staff on designated assessment days. The grades arrived at through this process are a general assessment of a student's overall performance throughout the relevant period. The final assessment takes place at the end of the course and takes into consideration work submitted for the Foundation Show.

Foundation Show

The course culminates in the Foundation Show at the end of May. Students and staff collaborate on the preparation and hanging of the show and this experience is an important part of the Course. The Foundation Show is advertised and open to the general public. There is a private view, part of which involves the award of the Foundation Certificates as well as the award of prizes. The end of the Foundation Show marks the end of the Foundation year.

Prizes

The Painter Stainers Company award for an outstanding Foundation Painting Student £50
The Vargas Eyres award for an outstanding Foundation Design Student £200
An award for an outstanding Foundation Fine Art Student £100
The Principal's award for outstanding work in the Foundation Show £100
The Vintners Company award for a wine label design £300

In addition to these prizes, the Fishmongers Company award for a menu cover design (£750), a competition open to all students in the school, was won this year by a Foundation design student.