A Level Photography

Over the course, you will have opportunities to develop knowledge and understanding of:

Analogue Photographic Processing

Making photograms.

Developing and printing 35mm.

Using SLR cameras.

Darkroom terminology and techniques.

Digital Photography

The functions of a digital SLR camera, specialist lenses and lighting equipment.

Digital manipulation, processing and printing.

Specialist terminology and techniques.

Analytical and Contextual Study

Using others’ work to inspire and inform your own outcomes.

Exam Board: Edexcel

All of the work you complete in lessons and for homework tasks forms part of your coursework. This accounts for 60% of your final grade. The examination accounts for the remaining 40%. This is set over two days (eight hours) where you will have sixteen weeks to plan and prepare. All work is formally assessed at the end of each unit and again at the end of the course, so there is always the opportunity to improve your grade.

Homework is set every week where you will be expected to spend at least sixty minutes on it. This will increase for the examination.

Unit 1: Coursework = 60% of final grade and is completed over the course of Year 12.

Work is assessed by teachers at the end of each project (termly), but students still have the opportunity to respond to feedback and improve their grade up until the end of Year 13.

In Terms 1-2 of Year 13, student complete a Personal Study = 10% of coursework grade.

Unit 2: Externally Set Assignment (Examination) is a ten week project (Terms 3-5) where students complete preparatory work = 75% of examination grade. Project culminates in a twelve hour timed test, where students complete a final outcome = 25 % of examination grade. Examination Project = 40% of final grade

Preferably a GCSE design subject e.g. Art, Technology, Graphics, Photography, Media Studies grade 5 or higher. Above all, you will need to have a healthy enthusiasm for the subject and be prepared to work hard, particularly with independent study.

Photography is the most prevalent means of visual communication that almost all of us are accustomed to using.

Be it for news/media, advertising, aesthetic or personal purposes, the language of photography is a common aspect of our modern, everyday lives.

If you have a keen interest or you are thinking of Photography as a vocation, this course will give you the opportunity to learn about techniques and theories to help you become a better practitioner.