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On Friday 14th November, our GCSE and A Level Art students had the exciting opportunity to visit the newly refurbished National Portrait Gallery in London. The trip was designed...
Most visitors to the school comment on the high quality art work that students at Bushey Meads are creating under the expert direction and guidance of their top teachers in the...
It was a real privilege to watch year 9 in art using the mono printing technique. The students were really engaged and the progress made throughout the lesson was amazing. I look...
We are thrilled to share the success of our annual GCSE and A-Level Art Exhibition, which took place last week and drew a fantastic crowd of students, families, staff, and members...
The Art Department at Bushey Meads continues to be a real centre of excellence both in and beyond the school, and the staff in the department are supporting all students to excel...
Arts Award Spotlight: Student Reviews As part of the Silver Arts Award, our students have been exploring a wide range of artistic experiences—from theatre productions and live...
GCSE and A-Level Art & Photography Trip to Barcelona Over the spring term, a group of our GCSE and A-Level Art and Photography students enjoyed an exciting four-day trip to...
It was great to be able to welcome Darcy Turner to Bushey Meads School last week to lead a whole day workshop for talented BMS artists as part of our latest enrichment day. ...
Artist Darcy Turner Inspires Students with Wire Sculpture Workshop Bushey Meads School was delighted to welcome renowned artist Darcy Turner for a fantastic Enrichment Day, where...
You could feel the creativity in the room during one of the enrichment day activities for Year 11. Students were sitting around a still life installation and refining their...
On Friday 14th November, our GCSE and A Level Art students had the exciting opportunity to visit the newly refurbished National Portrait Gallery in London. The trip was designed to support their coursework on identity, offering them first-hand inspiration from some of the most influential portrait artists in British history.
Upon arrival, students were split into two workshop groups, each exploring identity through a different creative lens.
Group One took part in an Art and Identity workshop, working directly from original artworks in the gallery’s collection. Equipped with different coloured paper and drawing materials, students learned observational drawing techniques, explored how artists communicate personal narratives, and developed pages of expressive studies that will feed into their coursework. These techniques challenged the students in their usual drawing styles and got them to focus on applying block areas of mid, dark and light tones.
Group Two investigated Identity Through Photography, learning how photographers construct meaning through pose, lighting, composition, and context. Students experimented with ideas for their own photographic portraits with the use of costume, props and lighting.
Exploring different ways of working really showed the students a variety of approaches to portraiture which they can explore further in their own work in art and/or photography.
After the workshops, everyone had time to explore the galleries independently. Students were really inspired by the contemporary portrait displays, where diverse voices and modern approaches to identity offered fresh ideas and creative direction. Some were also fascinated by the more traditional portraits and the way artists from past centuries captured character and status through meticulous detail, composition, and use of light—offering valuable insights and inspiration for their own approaches to portraiture.
The trip was a valuable experience for all involved—full of lively discussion, thoughtful sketching, and new ways of seeing themselves as artists. We look forward to seeing how this visit sparks new developments in their GCSE and A Level projects over the coming weeks.
