The Creative Arts are very very important at Sands. In a school where choice is so encouraged art becomes central to the lives of many students. It is not unusual for a student to spend most of their day working on their art.
Our facilities for visual art are exceptional for a small school. Art has its own building on two floors with 6 separate work spaces covering a wide range of media. It is often likened to an Art School in miniature with specialised media areas open to students at all times. Final year students have personal workspaces as they would in most Degree level courses. 3D workshops are on the ground floor with a permanent dedicated plaster area and a clay studio with a kiln and additional workspace.
There is a large general mixed media workspace, used for working with willow, wood, paper, card and textiles and a studio for welding and larger scale sculpture, built by staff, parents and students. Additionally we have a covered outdoor sculpture space so that most welding can now take place outdoors. There are tools for all general metal and wood working.
On the first floor is a general 2D drawing and painting studio with good provision of all necessary materials. Sands has a very generous budget for visual Art. There is an extensive art library of approximately 500 books and additional resources in the form of specialised folders on commonly occurring subjects. This extends to hundreds of images. Books are being continually added.
The Art GCSE at Sands is spread over three generous years, giving students lots of time to develop both as a creative and an individual. This has a huge impact on the quality of the work produced and the learning experience. Below is a video of our GCSE Art and Photography exhibition 2023. Enjoy.
Some time ago an ex-student made this rather beautiful short film about being an artist at Sands, which shows our approach and atmosphere better than any words we could write here.