Art & Design (Triple) BTEC Level 3 National
Board: Edexcel
About this subject
Equivalent to 3 A levels, the Level 3 National Extended Diploma is intended to be studied full time over two years as the substantial qualification of a learner’s study.
It is ideal for students who have a real enthusiasm for art and design and who are seeking to progress onto a career in this ever-growing and exciting industry. Students explore a wide range of art and design pathways such as:
Art – Drawing, Printmaking, Painting, Mixed Media, 3D Craft, Sculpture & Multi-Media, etc
Design – Graphic Typography and Branding, Illustration, Digital Design and Photography, etc
Students then choose to pursue specialising in a creative area.
Criteria of the course is flexible across the subject areas and unit content is designed to reflect the sectors that offer the most likely career opportunities in the creative field.
In the first year, students gain work experience through vocational assignment briefs and visitation, whilst gallery and contextual visits also provide exciting enrichment tasks.
Briefs are structured, aiding direction in learning and allowing for much personal expression.
Learning styles
Students learn through specialist teaching and then respond to a brief. Each teacher brings their own industry experience to the course. The aim of the brief is to prepare students for work scenarios or university experience, focusing on research and idea development, technical skills, and communication skills in addition to the presentation of work. With an emphasis on mirroring industry-style briefs and working in the creative sector, students learn how to use research material to develop ideas and outcomes whilst gaining an understanding of the career opportunities available in art and design. All students work towards building a Portfolio.
Subject Combinations and Progression
On completion of the course, the vast majority of students progress to higher education. Having gained the Extended Diploma along with a substantial portfolio of art and design work, students feel prepared for degree study. Our students take up national prestigious degrees across a range of related disciplines; from Graphic Illustration to Animation, 3D Craft and Prop, Fine Art and Fashion Photography.
Many students are also keen to move straight into the workplace and they take with them a wealth of transferable skills that would allow them to work proficiently in a creative industry.
Subject Modules and Assessment
The course covers both practical and theoretical skills in art and design and has a rigorous academic focus. There are 4 internal coursework units and 2 externally set units in the first year before focusing on more specialist units in the second year to suit the students’ interests and pursuits.
Units are followed in a linear fashion, with deadlines minimised across pathways to allow for focus on achievement for each assignment.
Entry Requirements
4 in GCSE Art or relevant Creative Subject and English grade 4.
or
Merit in BTEC L2 Art and Design and English grade 4.