Art at Sherborne Qatar

Art at Sherborne Qatar seeks to open children's eyes and minds to the visual world around them, and to stimulate their curiosity, creativity and imagination. Themed projects are aimed at promoting an understanding of form, colour and texture as well as developing specific skills and experimenting with a range of materials and techniques. Where appropriate, the work of acclaimed artists is introduced in order to increase children's critical awareness of the roles and purposes of art in different times and cultures. For example, Year 4 pupils looked at a range of maps whilst investigating the QCA project 'Journeys'.

The image in the mediaplayer shows some of the 'Journeys' work: Oil Pastel pictures developed through an investigation of the theme 'Journeys', where pupils in Year 4 studied a variety of iconic images including Harry Beck's London Underground Map and the Hondius Family's Old World Map.

Similarly, pupils in Year 5 have studied the work of artists such as Paul Cezanne, Vincent Van Gogh, Willem Calf and Tom Wesselmann before starting their own drawings from observation.

Drawing is seen as a vitally important skill in its own right, in addition to its uses as a tool of enquiry for work in both two and three dimensions. However, children can also benefit and achieve success through the development of skills and understanding in relation to other areas of art; multi-sensory work in the form of installations, textile and ceramic processes, work with ICT, non-representational images and pattern will all be included in both the practical and contextual aspects of the course. Because of its immense cultural influence as well as its connection with the development of painting, a study of the history of photography will also form part of the course at Key stage three.