Art

The Art School is well known for exceptionally high standards, to which our end of year exhibition, examination results and impressive record of progression to art college are testament. However, success is not limited to the most able artists and the School encourages all pupils to achieve.

From P4, when the Art School begins working with pupils, ability is developed through an emphasis on strong observational drawing leading on to exploration of a variety of disciplines including sculpture, drawing and painting, printmaking, ceramics, batik, photography and film.

While Watson’s is committed to the SQA qualifications, the Art School is unique in offering GCSE, AS and A Level. This is because of the portfolio-based content of the A Level, and its suitability for pupils applying to Higher Education courses in fields related to Art and Design and Architecture.

In S3 and S4, GCSE work takes the form of units. These start with research drawings in a variety of media and from a variety of sources, which are then developed towards a final piece. In parallel with the practical work, pupils are asked to look at relevant artists and art movements, visit galleries, exhibitions and libraries and to use the Internet. In S5, pupils follow a similar structure for AS Level, with an five-hour examination at the end of the year. Successful AS candidates continue on to complete the A2 course in S6. Those not taking A2 can work towards an uncertificated Portfolio and S6 'beginners' may decide to tackle AS level at this stage.

A highly committed team of teaching and support staff is joined each year by an artist-in-residence, who passes on specialist skills, normally gained from recent study at art college.