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Fine Art

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Course Overview

Fine Art

A Level Art and Design: Fine Art pathway is a two-year course offering opportunities to develop responses to ideas, observations and experiences. Suitable for those interested in art, it lays a foundation for further studies in Fine Art or related subjects in Higher Education. The course emphasises drawing, including life drawing, and explores painting, print, 3D, photography and digital processes, allowing students to develop their own ideas and specialisms.

Course highlights:

In the first year, you will study a skills-based foundation course preparing you for the first major project (Personal Investigation), worth 60% of the total A Level mark. The Personal Investigation begins towards the end of the first year and continues up until the end of January of the second year to give you the time needed to create individual, ambitious work with an in-depth exploration of a personal theme. This project is then followed by an externally set assignment worth 40% of the total A Level mark and encompasses a 15-hour formal exam at the end of the project.

Located at: Barnsley Sixth Form College

Course Start: September 2025

Course length: 2 Years

Study Mode: Full-time

Course Code: QSFCALARY1

Course Fees and Funding

How much does the course cost?

Full-time Barnsley College students aged 16-18 years old do not have to pay tuition fees.

Other funding information

This course is not eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan.

Course Content

  • GCSE Grade 5 or above in Art and Design (Fine Art or Art and Design and submission of a digital portfolio covering a range of media.

  • Students who have not been to a school which offers GCSE Art can still apply with a portfolio. We will contact you to request your portfolio after you have applied).

The course is 60% coursework. You will be required to submit completed projects on set deadlines for assessment. Some assessments will be carried out in one-to-one discussions with your tutor to check progress before final submissions of completed coursework. The 15-hour exam at the end of the externally set assignment is marked as part of the whole project and is worth 40% of your final grade.

To study the course, you will need to purchase a ‘Build a Kit’ of compulsory materials. These are available to buy from Barnsley Sixth Form College, just fill in the ‘Build a Kit’ form and bring this with you on your induction day. Students also find it useful to have, craft knife, posca pens, coloured pens or white gel pens.

A Level

You can progress to Higher Education to study a variety of Art-related courses such as fine art, sculpture, graphics, textiles and photography. The portfolio of practical work produced on this course will also be useful for interviews, employment and further study. Potential career routes include: fine art, graphic design, animation, illustration, product design, media, marketing, advertising and fashion.

Other Resources

For further details, please contact our Information Unit by calling 01226 216 123 or emailing: info@barnsley.ac.uk

Our Additional Learning Support team can provide you with the support you need. Call 01226 216 769 for further information.

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Barnsley College has a range of sports opportunities for all students to take part in, gain professional training and compete nationally and internationally. We also have a state-of-the-art fitness village, the Sports Village, where students can make use of our fitness suite, spinning studio and classes for competitive rates.

Disclaimer: Please note we reserve the right to change details without notice. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

The course information on this page was last updated 07 May 2025.