Visual Arts
No limits... Just possibilities
The school has a dynamic Art department offering the subject to all ages and abilities, personalising creative experiences to meet individual needs. Art is headed by Kath Hitchings, who is also Head of Creative Arts and a Specialist Leader in Education, as appointed by the St Polycarp’s Federation in 2019. Kath works three days a week at the school and leads in National and local Arts consultancy work on the other days.
Lessons are also taught by Esther Parmour, Art HLTA. Esther specialises in the Explorer Pathway and is constantly looking for creative sensory learning opportunities for our students. These students are given many opportunities to achieve Arts Award Discover. Kath leads on the EDUQAS GCSE Art Craft and Design and WJEC Entry level Art qualifications. All students have opportunity for class Art lessons, held either in their class or in the Create Centre. In addition, we provide 1 to 1 art sessions for students for students who have a particular interest in this area. Esther has a great love and responsibility for updating the art display boards on a weekly basis. This allows students many opportunities to take pride in their work as they share it with the rest of the school community
We work in close partnership with the other members of the Creative Arts team and the Artist in Residence. The Arts Team are constantly striving to maintain outstanding provision. Our Artist in Residence will often help provide specific expertise for students taking qualifications. (see section on ‘Artist in Residence’)This is evidenced in our 2023 OFSTED outstanding rating , which included a deep dive in Art and Design.
Every Summer we host a whole-school Art Exhibition in the Enterprise Centre. Every single student has a piece of Art represented, as well as Pottery and D&T work on show. Parents and friends of the school are invited. This event runs concurrently with the School Talent Show- an opportunity to share in the music and Dance successes of the academic year.
We are in the process of applying for the Arts Mark, after achieving Gold status in the previous cycle. We have very strong links with both The Arts Society and Cranleigh Arts Centre- we exhibit annually along the other schools in the area, and regularly seek opportunities to bring new Arts experiences to our students. Annually, during October, we hold an Arts Week, inviting sculptors, actors, animators and graffiti artists to visit to work with and inspire our young people. We win annual awards for our achievements- including thousands of pounds from ‘The Unique Art Awards’ in recent years. Such competition successes allow us to fund new, innovative opportunities.