Design and Visual Arts

The Design and Visual Arts Department aims to develop the artistic and creative skills of boys at City of London School by involving them in a wide range of art, design and creative activities.

DVA is taught as a curricular subject to all boys up to and including the Third Form. Boys may then choose to take a general GCSE course leading to a qualification in Art & Design. At AS and A2, the Department offers Art & Design.

Below the Fourth Form, boys experience a wide variety of art and design activities. These include painting and drawing, printmaking, ceramics photography, sculpture, and craft and design (boys in Old Grammar and First Form).

The GCSE course is the Edexcel unendorsed Art & Design syllabus, and offers boys the opportunity for further work in any of the above areas. The course requires an important element of practical coursework; there is also a final ten hour examination, followed by an exhibition.

At AS and A2, students are offered Art & Design in combined groups. The A level course consists of practical coursework and final examination. The Edexcel unendorsed syllabus is again followed.

At all levels, students are encouraged to relate their own work to the work and ideas of artists and designers, past and present.

Examples of boys’ work are on display around the school, reflecting the DVA department’s commitment to the high quality teaching of a wide variety of Art and Design activities. The studios and workshop of the department are well equipped to teach painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, ceramics and craft and design. The highlight of the year is the Summer Show, where students display the varied work that they have submitted for public examinations (GCSE, AS, A2).

Each year, a number of our Sixth Form students go on to study at Art Schools such as Central St Martins, Chelsea and Camberwell. A smaller number go on to study at Schools of Architecture such as the Bartlett (London University), Cambridge and Glasgow.