100% A*-B (2022)

A-Level Textile Design is essential if you wish to undertake further study in the same discipline at College or University, or for those students looking to take up a career in the general field of Art and Design.

Career choices range from fashion, apparel and textile design, theatre, film and costume design, interior design, conservation, fashion illustration, fashion buying, fashion styling, fashion merchandising, public relations, textile technology, pattern cutting and grading, millinery, tailoring and upholstery, education, freelance work and self-employment.

Many students in the department choose the already established creative subjects like Art, Photography and Graphic Design and apply directly to universities bypassing the Foundation Diploma stage.

The course is orientated towards the creative fine art side of the Textile sphere of subjects. Therefore, students will be given the opportunity to pursue different specialisms such as stitching, printing, drawing, 3 dimensional garment construction, textile sculpture and fabric manipulation. This will be accompanied by digital techniques such as the use of photography and computer aided design, where appropriate.

Course Content and Methodology

The two-year course represents a gradual progression of teaching and learning, leading from a highly taught centre of activity in the first year to a more individual and student centered focus in the second year.

The department runs two residential study trips for Year 12/13 students. International cities such as Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin have been popular destinations, as well as London.

At the end of the course, students will have an opportunity to exhibit their work in a professional and public gallery space.

Assessment

Exam Board: OCR Assessment A-Level Components H604/01

Component 1: Personal Investigation (60% of total A-Level)

Candidates should produce two elements:

1: A portfolio of practical work showing your personal responses, brief scenario or stimulus devised and provided by the candidate or centre (96 out of 120 marks).

2: A related study is a written component with a guided minimum of 1,000 words supported with practical evidence (24 out of 120 marks).

This component is internally assessed and externally moderated.

Component 2: Externally Set Task (40% of total A-Level)

The early release paper is issued on 1 February and will provide you with a number of themes, each with a range of written and visual starting points, briefs and stimuli. From these, you must select one, upon which to base a response.

Externally set task (80 marks) 15 hours.

This component is internally assessed and externally moderated.

Course Requirements

Creative Textiles requires the student to have a genuine interest in the subject and a high degree of self-motivation. A large amount of the work for assessment is completed outside of timetabled lessons.

Students must be keen, be able to think for themselves and be able to work on extended research assignments. If you have an aptitude for the subject and if you are creative you have the basic skills to succeed, but hard work and determination is the key to success.

Students who have not done the subject at GCSE, can still access the course. Students should have an aptitude and flair for the subject, as well as demonstrate the basic skills to succeed. However, hard work, commitment and determination are the key to success in this dynamic and exciting subject

Facilities