A Level - Photography

Course Information

Art & Design Google Site: https://sites.google.com/a/suffolkone.ac.uk/art-design-one/home

What does the course involve?

1.8 billion digital images are uploaded daily. We live in a visual world and this course is aimed at those students who are interested and excited by this. A Level Photography offers you an opportunity to express your imagination and creative side, as well as develop your existing photographic and IT skills.

You will have the opportunity to produce your own range of work, using ideas and influences that you will have studied during the course. This course is broken in to eight project across the two years, with each project building your skills and technical knowledge, enabling you to have the confidence and skill set to express yourself effectively and creatively. Photography students need to be well organised, motivated, proactive and inspired by the medium.

You should be keen to explore its history to date and the meaning of photography in the digital age. This course will enable you to form a personal enquiry and expression using the capture, selection and manipulation of images. You will produce supporting studies throughout the course, including a journal that is part sketchbook and part diary and you will be encouraged to experiment broadly and generate lots of ideas for each project. Throughout the course there will be opportunities to investigate:

• Black and white
• Colour
• Location
• Studio
• Fine art
• Fashion
• Documentary
• Image manipulation
• Moving image
• Analogue photography
• Alternative processes

Progression

This A Level will enable potential progression to university onto Photography or Art related degree courses, or a pre-degree Foundation Diploma in Art and Design. Both could lead to an Art or Design related career. An A Level in Photography is an excellent accompaniment for anyone wishing to pursue a career in journalism or the television industry.

Entry Requirements

Standard entry requirements, plus: 

• Minimum Grade 4 Art/Photography (or related GCSE) 
• L2 vocational equivalent at Merit or Distinction 
• Bring a portfolio of your work to interview 

Is this the right course for me?

Combining more than two Art & Design subjects at A level is challenging; those wishing to pursue full-time study in Art & Design should apply for a UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Art & Design instead. The following subjects will complement this A level: English Literature, Film Studies, Fine Art, Graphic Communication and Media Studies.

How will I be assessed?

All of your creative, practical and analytical work will be assessed by your teachers and moderated externally. At the end of the two years, the externally set practical assignment culminates in a three day practical exam.

What are the costs?

There is a small £20 fee to study on this course. This goes toward art materials used throughout the two-year program of study. Students will receive a small amount of printing credit, this may need to be topped up throughout the year.  Art packs to provide sufficient portfolios, mount boards and prints for the year will be available at cost price from the online College shop, we aim to keep this below £25. In order to gain maximum benefit from this course students should budget for:

• The purchase of a digital camera (ideally a DSLR). Teaching staff at One can provide guidance regarding the purchase of a suitable camera at a reasonable cost.
• External Hard Drive and SD cards
• Trips to galleries, museums and inspiring photographic locations in order to gain maximum benefit from this course. These will take place once a term and we aim to keep the cost below £15 for each trip.

Students in receipt of bursary payments can use these funds to pay the materials fee, and for materials in the online College shop.

What is the duration?

A Level Photography is a two year course.