Art & Design
Creativity & Imagination
We believe art and design is important to young children’s education because:
- It stimulates creativity and imagination and gives the opportunity for pupils to use art to record their inner feelings.
- It provides visual, tactile and sensory experiences and a special way of understanding and responding to the world.
- It enables children to communicate what they see, feel and think through the use of its unique ‘visual language’ of line, tone, colour, pattern, texture, shape, form and space, and through the use of different materials and processes.
- It helps children to learn to make informed judgements and aesthetic and practical decisions.
- It increases critical awareness of the roles and purposes of art and design in different times and cultures.
- It fosters an appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts, which enriches all our lives.
Capturing Spirit & Energy
We strive to capture the spirit, energy and unique power and value of Art and Design. All pupils have weekly art lessons, covering throughout the year drawing and painting, printmaking and textiles, design and designing, clay modelling and three dimensional construction as well as learning the language of Art and Design and enjoying technology and new media. Older girls enjoy the facilities of the Senior School Textile Department.
“A testimony to their creativity is the high standard of artwork displayed around the school.” (The Independent School’s Inspectorate, December 2014).
Local Artist Workshops
Girls learn from local artists and designers whenever possible and for many years we have had a close working partnership with a local artist from Brighton’s ‘Same Sky’. Our recent Creative Week, ‘Around the World in a Week, based upon ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ by Phileas Fogg was a resounding success with artist led workshops for all girls as well as for children from visiting schools. Parents and carers were invited to take a fantastic ‘journey’ round the world to admire the art on display which included Indian block prints, papier mache eagle heads, fan and lantern making and clay plaques.
We also enjoy a strong connection with a local textile artist, who runs rag rugging and felting workshops with the girls.
Each year we participate in the exciting Brighton Festival Children’s Parade, creating weird and wonderful interactive 3D big makes and other props with the help of our resident artist. Past themes have included The Jabberwocky and The Hungry Caterpillar, and this year girls constructed amazing characters from ‘The Worst Witch’, by Jill Murphy.
We offer popular, interactive art clubs for girls in both the Infants and Juniors.