Art and Design at Pocklington School: The integration of work in Art and Technology at a Yorkshire Secondary School

Abstract

The Design and Creation Centre, opened in January 1970, brought together under one roof an existing Art Department and new Technical Unit. From the outset it was decided that the Centre should develop an integrated approach rather than separate art and technical courses and this led to the development of a basic course which aims to challenge a boy's intelligence and appeal to his creative and aesthetic instincts. The course, parts of which are described in this article, is followed by all boys in the 11+ to 13+ age range.

The Design Centre is situated in a new single storey prefabricated building with an 'H' shaped open plan arrangement of six main teaching areas: a Design studio used primarily for modelling work in paper, card and wire; a Fine Art studio; a Workshop equipped as a general purpose room for wood, metal and plastics and containing dual purpose benches and simple machine tools; a Technical laboratory; a Lecture Room equipped with a number of visual aid facilities, and a central Reference and Display area.

All boys in Forms I, II and III are timetabled to spend two double periods each week in the Centre, one on the art side and the other on the technical. This distribution varies from time to time and a group may spend all four periods in one place if a particular phase of their work demands it, or two groups may be combined for a joint session. In the IV Form boys may opt to take art as an '0' level subject and continue to an 'A' level examination. There are no examinations in craft or technical drawing, although technical projects are offered as part of VI Form General Studies programmes.