Group 6: The Arts
Students may choose one subject from the following to study at either Higher (HL) or Standard level (SL) or they can use this option to study a second subject from one of the other groups.
- Music
- Visual Arts
International Baccalaureate Music
Students studying the IB can choose Music at Standard or Higher Level.
The aim of this course is for students to develop skills in a number of related areas that include performance, composition and listening and analysis. The focus of this study is different at Higher or Standard Level.
Opportunities for performance are numerous at Sidcot. There are a growing number of ensembles, both large and small; all students are invited to participate. These include a Concert Band, Girls Choir and Jazz Band. Trips are regularly organised by the music department to Bristol, Bath and London to see a large variety of musical events from Musicals to Symphonic Concerts.
International Baccalaureate Visual Arts
This course could lead to further study in Art and its subsidiaries: Photography, Graphic Design, Fashion, Textiles, leading to a wide range of professions as diverse as an Illustrator, Creative Director, Photographer, Printer, Web Designer, Artist or Film Maker. Many students study Art for its own sake and enjoy the stimulation of this wide ranging discipline alongside other subjects.
Students can work in disciplines as varied as slumped glass, welded scrap sculpture on a large scale, creations in stone and wood, land art, installation art, beautiful and functional ceramics, digital film making and animation, virtual reality, traditional watercolour, oil painting and screen printing. The possibilities are boundless. A Textiles option may be available if there is a group of students wishing to take the subject.
The IB in Visual Arts has two basic components, studio work and research workbooks. The former is the practical work that students produce, both individually and collaboratively, and the evidence from core studies such as skills based sessions. The latter is a ‘working journal’ charting the student’s progress through the course, with evidence of analytical research, experimentation, exploration, interpretation. These may develop marked themes and should strongly reflect the student’s own artistic interests, complementing the practical work that they do.
To learn more about what it is like to study Art at Sidcot, please visit the Art department’s own website here. This is a working site, and includes a blog which gives an excellent insight into life in Sidcot’s Art department.
