History of Art

Course summary

You should study the History of Art if you are genuinely interested in art and design and the ideas and contexts behind it, rather than an appreciation! You learn to look and think critically about social, political, philosophical, and aesthetic questions. Many of our pupils who consider a career in the arts continue studying Art History at university. This is an excellent choice to combine with Fine Art or Interdisciplinary Design, and for anyone who wants to study an academic arts-related subject, or complement it with other subject choices. History of Art is highly regarded by universities and makes you stand out from the crowd. Our course has a global scope. The works of art and architecture you will study are from Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia. They range from ancient temples like the Parthenon or Angkor Wat to contemporary art by Tracey Emin or Ai Weiwei. You learn to combine visual analysis with the study of historical contexts, wider cultural ideas, and art historical concepts. The sheer variety of material we cover means that this subject is enjoyed by all pupils. Our style of teaching is very much that of a university seminar. We expect you to be self-driven and to prepare well for our lessons which are based on discussion and debate. This is not a textbook subject so you will work with many different books in our extensive department library. We give our pupils a lot of individual support and small class sizes mean that we will get to know you very well. There is a good rapport between teachers and pupils and our classroom is always a safe space. You will study many works of art and architecture first-hand during lesson time, visits and day trips to museums and galleries in and around London, and during a visit abroad. You have ample opportunity to develop your spoken language skills to a high standard through presentations in class, during visits and as part of ARTiculation, the national public speaking competition we take part in every year.