Art & Design

Mr Dugal McCrow, Principal Teacher
Mr Angus Grant
Mr Kyle Noble

Art and Design is a vibrant department with opportunities for pupils to develop their skills and personal interests in a range of art and design areas.  In S1 and S2 pupils follow a varied course developing their drawing, painting, graphics, sculpture and paper manipulation skills.  In expressive activities, pupils develop their abilities in still-life, landscape, urban environment, portraiture and figures. In S3 there is a focus on portraiture in a variety of different artistic styles and media.  At National, Higher and Advanced Higher pupils develop their observational and compositional skills as they work on themes leading to finished artworks and in design they develop their market research skills, drawing inspiration from other designers and visual sources, work out different design possibilities and create a well-finished final product.  The department makes use of cutting-edge modern technology in order to help pupils realise their final products.  Pupils develop their literacy skills through learning about and analysing famous artworks and designs and the social/cultural/historical contexts in which they were created,

Many pupils make use of the department at lunchtimes to develop their skills further.

The Art and Music trip to Paris is a regular biannual feature and is open to senior pupils taking qualifications in these departments.  We visit the major galleries and museums including the Louvre, Pompidou and d’Orsay with concerts in the evenings and walks around the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, Trocadero, Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe.

Pupils should  use their sketchbooks every week to develop their ideas and improve their observational and creative skills.  Sketchbook work, using first-hand sources, is one of the surest ways to succeed in the subject and in applications for art courses at college or university.

We have a Skills for Work Creative Industries course that helps pupils develop skills in working as a professional artist, craftsperson or designer, creating, exhibiting and marketing their work.

Many pupils take National or Higher Photography in senior school, but interested pupils can see Mr McCrow about building their photographic skills at an earlier age, especially as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award.