Art and design fosters creativity, imagination and confidence: skills that are transferable to every other subject on the school curriculum. At St Nicholas of Tolentine, we believe that a strong art education can give young people an appreciation of why art matters. It allows children to understand where it comes from, and where it fits in a wider social, historical and political context. As well as being an enjoyable and pleasurable subject to study, art gives students an understanding of the world and themselves.

At St Nicholas of Tolentine Primary, we follow The National Curriculum to plan age appropriate lessons as part of a thematic curriculum. The National Curriculum for Art and Design aims to ensure that all pupils;

•  produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences;
• become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques;
• evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design;
• know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms

Please refer to class pages to see the exciting curriculum that our learners are helping to create.

Term 1

Reception and Year 1 have been exploring colour this term. They have enjoyed exploring the artwork by Yayoi Kusama. She enjoyed painting bright colours and polka dots. We began our topic by mixing primary colours to create secondary colours.

Term 2

Year 2 have enjoyed learning all about the artist Hundertwasser. They went out on a school trip the explore houses in our area to compare them with the houses Hundertwasser painted. They also explored patterns in the natural world to inspire them to make their own Hundertwasser style artwork. 

Year 4 have been learning all about the artist Wassily Kandinsky. They have been exploring pattern and colour to create their own Kandinsky style artwork. Can you make our own Wassily Kandinsky style art at home? 

Term 3

Artist inspiration and topics each class will learn about this term:

Diamond Class have been exploring the artist Bridget Riley. They have been creating their own Bridget Riley artwork by creating lots of different line patterns. They practiced their line skills before creating a camouflage  painting.

Year 2 have been learning about Ugandan basket weaving. They have been using the technique 'over, under, over, under.' They have experimented with more complicated patterns and will be using these skills to create a final basket. 

Year 4 have been exploring paintings of the Swiss Alps. They have used the artist Katsushika Hokusai to support their skills of using 3D effects to show the form of a mountain.