I have always been fascinated by pattern, texture and material and love experimenting with different surfaces and media. The textiles course has allowed me to learn a wide variety of new techniques and then focus on the ones I’ve particularly enjoyed. I’ve been given the opportunity to explore a selection of different artists work as well as developing my own personal style.
The syllabus at A level covers a range of topics from lots of different disciplines: from the role of Catholicism to Frida Kahlo, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed tackling current and diverse topics, forming my own opinion on real world issues from across Spain and Latin America. Our classes are often interactive with group tasks that get everyone working together which are fun; these focus on building our reading, writing, listening and translation skills.
Textiles is a lot of hard work but it is so rewarding when you can step back and finally see your work mounted on the wall and think 'I made that!', it's a very cool feeling.
What I love most about the course is that it is very coursework heavy, this reduces the pressure when it comes up to the final exam. 60% of the course is made up performance and composition. This gives me lots of performance opportunities and time to improve on my piano playing. We also have lots of time throughout the year to compose which has prepared me well for university next year.
Godalming College not only supplies the resources and space to do just this, but provides rich expertise and feedback from teachers across all the departments. The scope of an art A-level creates opportunity for exploration into numerous subject areas, from architecture to textiles, digital art to sculpture and as a result, is a subject I believe relevant to any interest or career path.
Graphic design isn’t about being excellent at drawing, for example, but instead about having a passion to express yourself creatively. Graphics allows you the freedom to create in whatever medium you choose.
I’m currently studying photography at Godalming College, I initially chose it as an extra subject but ended up falling in love with it. Photography allows me to express my creative mind and gives me freedom within expression.
I have found both history and politics to be really engaging subjects that covers a variety of fascinating topics. In politics there is always good discussion around contemporary events and how they relate to our course and the wider world and also around the core ideologies and their implications for our current society. My favourite topics are UK political parties and looking at socialism.
Geography is an incredibly broad subject spanning a wide range of topics from those on the human side such as Global Systems and Global Governance, to Coasts and Hazards on the physical side. One of my favourite topics to study was Hazards since I’m particularly interested in how the human and physical sides of Geography are interconnected and how they interact with each other.
What I love about the German course is the wide variety of subjects that it touches on- there are always parallels between my other A-levels and times when I can draw upon existing knowledge. Studying A Level German has helped me to improve both my German language skills and knowledge of German culture, society and its history.
Jess Franklin chose creative A levels which have led her to have a great experience in of College. She shares her thoughts here.
Abdulai Yusuf shares his experience and thoughts about College and how his Maths skills has helped him to create music.
Matthew shares his experience of Geography A Level at Godalming College and his exciting news about where he is going to university.
Henry explains how Music Technology has extended one of his hobbies into an academic study and a creative challenge.
Ellie Smith feels that the History and Politics are great subjects to study together. She tells us about her experience of these A Level subjects at Godalming College.
Kayanna Moutarde explains her experience of the Hospitality and Event Management course at Godalming College and how the BTEC has allowed her to showcase skills.
By studying Art at A-Level, I have gained a further understanding of creative design and an awareness of the use of light, colour, shade, and texture. In addition to this, studying Graphic Design alongside Art taught me how to use a range of computer programmes such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Studying Fine Art enabled me to experiment using a variety of different mediums and styles within my work, including pointillism, collaging, linocuts, and printing. For my final project, I gained inspiration from the works of Pablo Jurado Ruiz and Debbie Smyth and created two triptychs – one being drawings of my younger sister in pointillism, and the second, three street scenes from Bordeaux, using the same pin and thread technique as Debbie Smyth but on a much smaller scale.
James Casemore was one of our students who worked exceptionally hard during his time with us, graduating from Godalming College in 2020 he went on to study at one of the most prestigious universities in America, Yale University. When chatting with James he expressed how his A-Levels, in particular Philosophy, had prepared him for university.