Art & Design

Art is distinctive in the way that it enables us to combine feeling, thinking and making.

Art and Design makes a unique and significant contribution to school life and to the learning experience of all students. Art is all encompassing and all pupils have the opportunity to explore different ways of expressing ideas, experimenting with a broad range of materials, techniques and processes and develop an awareness of their visual world and the cultures that have shaped it.

The Art department at Reigate Grammar School has a strong reputation for the quality of its work and for the broad range of disciplines it offers its students. Those disciplines offered at present are painting and drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, ceramics and textiles. The department believes that pupils should be able to become independent learners, and that they should feel able to take risks with their work within a supportive and nurturing environment.

The department benefits from purpose-built accommodation, constructed in 1995, which consists of three main studio areas, a darkroom and sixth form studio.

Students’ work is displayed around the school, especially in the main entrance hall and Wright Gallery. Pupils from all year groups have the opportunity to exhibit their work in the annual Art Exhibition and opportunities are also often taken up to exhibit work outside school, for example at locally organised exhibitions or competitions.

In the Lower School, a system of rotation operates to ensure that pupils have every opportunity to experience a broad range of practices on an annual basis. After this foundation period pupils may choose to continue with their studies in Art and Design at GCSE and subsequently at A Level. The department currently follows the Fine Art endorsement for GCSE and Art and Design for A Level.

Clubs and after school activities are an integral part of the department’s wider contribution to school life. These range from life drawing classes for Sixth Form students to lunchtime and after school art clubs for all year groups. GCSE and A Level pupils also have the opportunity to attend coursework workshops during the holidays.

 Please take a look at the Sixth Form pages for details of our A level Art and Photography courses or follow our Twitter feed (@ArtDeptRGS) for the latest updates