The Art & Design Textiles course allows you to demonstrate high levels of innovation and creativity. You will learn a wide range of Textile skills refining your understanding of surface pattern and design. You will learn to appreciate the relationship of form and function and working to the constraints of a brief. You will produce practical and folio work following projects in a range of disciplines, for example, fashion design, fashion textiles, costume design, interior design, art textiles and installed textiles. You will understand a variety of textile methods, such as fabric printing and colouring, fabric construction and stitching (appliqué, patchwork, padding, quilting and/or embroidery). You will also learn how ideas, feelings and meanings can be conveyed and interpreted in images and artefacts created in their chosen area of Textile Design.
Over the two years you will produce 2 portfolios and two major made outcomes inspired by different styles and genres which can be used to support applications and interviews for Art-based courses at degree level. There are a huge variety of careers that can follow a textile-based degree, as we live in a world surrounded and encased with textiles, from fashion textiles, to interior textiles to automotive and performance textiles; jobs include, design, buying, textile design assistant, studio assistant, product assistant, fashion adviser, design consultant, merchandiser, print maker and textile technologist.
Testament from former students Sophie Willis and Edie Bainbridge:
‘This course has allowed us to develop individually whilst soaking up a huge breadth of creativity from other Art Textiles students. We have had the freedom to experiment and the support to develop our skills in applied surfaces and constructed pieces. We were given the opportunity to enter the Young Fashion Designer of the year competition and were both finalists in successive years with our Yr12 and A2 work (Sophie 3rd at AS level 2017, Edie 2nd at A2 level 2018) and have visited the ‘New Designers’ exhibition in London
which was both inspiring and informative for our next steps.’
Edie will go on to study Contour Fashion BA (Hons) at De Montfort and Sophie is currently studying for her Art foundation in Stroud.
This is an exciting and vibrant course delivered through the investigation of the work of Artists and Designers and developed through experimentation of a wide range of media and skills. In the first year you will produce a full portfolio of work and a made outcome.
Year 13 students produce a folio of work and outcome in the personal assessment worth 60% of the total A level and a 15 hour externally set assignment towards the end of the year making up the remaining 40%. All units are controlled assessment/coursework based; there is no written examination.
Grade 6 or above at GCSE level in any Design Technology or Art & Design subject.