Art

Art is presented in a lively and interesting way throughout the school, the emphasis being on learning through fun, discovery and an increasing use of knowledge and skills.

In each year group, the following elements are taught and/or investigated;

-  Drawing
-  Painting
-  Collage/Textiles
-  3D/Clay/Modelling/Sculpture
-  Printing/Graphic Design
-  Artists/History of Art
-  Photography

From Year 3, children use a sketchbook to record, research and explore their ideas.

The majority of children also have a portfolio in which all 2D artwork is stored.
The children are encouraged to explore Art in its widest sense and the influence of other curriculum subjects is always important. Whenever appropriate, visits to Art Galleries, museums etc provide a useful extension of work covered in the classroom.

The school offers an extensive range of facilities including a specialised Art and Design Room, a kiln, screen printing, fabric painting, silk painting etc.

There are also various after school clubs, to date pottery, painting, craft and photography are offered.

With the expansion of the school, permanent artworks have been commissioned from various classes and more will be added as time allows.

The allocation of Art at CPS is as follows:

Lower School: Nursery to Year 2. Art is mainly topic based
Middle School: Years 3 and 4. Art is mainly topic based although some discrete lessons are taught.
Senior School: Years 5-8. Pupils are taught in the purpose built Art Room by the Head of Department. The importance of thorough, good quality preparation, usually in sketch, is paramount, so that the majority of the lesson can be given over to practical work.

Whole School Art Projects

When appropriate (for example at Christmas) the whole school combines to create themed displays.

Artists In Residence Scheme
In recent years all CPS children from Reception to Year 8 have benefited from a self-generated Art Fund. In-house festivals and exhibitions of painting, 3D and photography have raised enough money to invite artists from other cultures to share their expertise.

2005 - Monisha Bharadwaj ( India - a week residency). Children discovered much of the history and culture of the country as well as creating Tree of Life cards, Goddess Durga masks, Wali drawings and paintings, rangoli, dance, story telling, cookery.

2007 - David Lukani Odwar ( Africa - two weeks residency). David is a sculptor who shared his love of all things African with the CPS pupils. The children created masks out of clay which they decorated with found objects. They explored the culture and landscape of the Gulu district and Lake Victoria in Uganda. In October David returned to CPS to talk about his charity TAKS which gives displaced African children an opportunity to enjoy art.

2009 - Emma Reynard ( Britain - three months residency). Emma specialises in mosaics and spent summer term 2009 at CPS inspiring the children to create the wonderful mosaics which now adorn the walls of the school. There are still many more to go on display.

Such a long and ambitious residency was made possible by the generous sponsorship of the PTA.

2011 - Joanna Qui, Leanne Cheong, Teresa Paiva ( China - two week residency). The whole school appreciated the skills of these three talented artists; specifically dance, music and art, with much delightful work being produced as a result.

There are now plans afoot for a fifth residency in 2013 with the focus possibly on Spain.