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There are two parts to the OCR course for GCSE Art and Design. The portfolio is 60 per cent of the course and the externally set task is 40 per cent.

What is the externally set task?

The externally set assignment is the ‘exam’ at the end of the GCSE course. In January of Year 11 the externally set assignment papers are released. They contain themes written for the different areas of the course – e.g. Fine Art, or Graphic Communication.

What is a ‘theme’?

Each paper has five themes. You can choose the one you like or excites you most or one that you think you can do well.

Each theme contains a selection of starting points that you can use for inspiration.

• The first starting point is a list of words or phrases connected to the theme.
• The second starting point is a collection of images connected to the theme.
• The remaining starting points each link directly to one of the areas of the course. They give some examples of artists, designers or craftspeople that have created works relating to the theme.

An example theme

The starting points are broadly framed so you can respond to them in your own way. For example, it might be something along these lines:

Theme: Emotion

(a) Joy, excitement, worry, apprehension, fury, expression, control, freedom.

(b) See images below:

(c) In Fine Art, artists use a variety of means to express emotions in their work. Fauvism was a French art movement which followed Impressionism. Artists such as Henri Matisse, André Derain and Maurice de Vlaminck used wild, expressive and exaggerated colour in their paintings which later inspired German Expressionism.

In this example, would you have to use artists whose work is only linked to emotion?

You are not restricted by the theme or title for the artists you choose. For instance, you might like the sculptures made from recycled objects by Anthony Heywood. You could use his idea of using recycled materials and objects to make your own work. A heart made from children’s toys could remind us of the joy and happiness of time when we were younger. This would make a powerful link to the theme of emotion.