Art
Our Art A Level course offers a dynamic and supportive environment for you to explore your creative potential. At Varndean we have a strong history of teaching both traditional and contemporary art skills in our purpose built, light filled art studio. Guided by practising artists and experienced tutors, you’ll experiment with a range of materials, techniques, and mediums while developing your own unique artistic voice. The course is designed to help you think critically, push boundaries, and take creative risks through a combination of practical projects, individual study, and research into the work of influential artists.
In Year 1, you’ll be introduced to a broad spectrum of artistic practices, from drawing and painting to printmaking and mixed media. You’ll explore different approaches to drawing, work with life models, and gain hands-on experience using many different materials. You will experience a degree of freedom and personal project management by researching your own individual theme, whilst working with exciting techniques and expert guidance. Art allows you to find out what is interesting and important to you as an individual, and explore the ways to express this. Visits to major galleries in London will further broaden your exposure to contemporary art and inspire your own work.
As you progress into Year 2, you’ll extend your technical skills and focus on more ambitious, self-directed projects. You’ll negotiate your individual subjects of study with your tutor, deepening your engagement with both practical and critical research. You will also be encouraged to work on large-scale pieces in two or three dimensions. In the second half of the year, you’ll have the opportunity to demonstrate your artistic development in an externally set assignment, showcasing your ability to record observations, respond to existing art, and produce your own high-level creative work. A final exhibition will mark the culmination of your Year 2 work, giving you the opportunity to present your portfolio to the public.
Course Highlights
Hands-on Experience: Work in well-equipped, specialist studios with a wide range of materials.
Personal Development: Explore and develop your individual artistic practice, with projects tailored to your interests.
Industry Insight: Study the work of renowned artists and visit top galleries.
Creative Freedom: Experiment with different approaches to drawing, painting, printmaking, and mixed media.
Exhibition Opportunity: Showcase your work in a final Year 2 exhibition.
By the end of the course, you’ll have built a strong portfolio of work, developed a clear sense of your artistic direction, and be ready to take on a range of professional opportunities within the art world. The creative industries in the UK are top employers and the skills you will learn in managing your own research and creative projects are desirable transferable skills for many employment pathways.
Erin Fairall ex Priory School, Lewes
Course Essentials
Courses Available
A Level
How The Course is Assessed
60% coursework, 40% externally set assignment
Career Pathways
To Foundation courses and specialist Art degrees. Degree courses outside the Art area eg. History, Politics, Economics and English.
Transferable Skills
Confident creative project planning and management, visualisation and research, fluent use of visual language, analytical understanding of western and non-western cultures.
Other Information
You will have access to a wide range of processes, including drawing and painting in oils or acrylics on a range of scales. You can also work in three dimensions in a variety of construction materials.
Enquiries To
Amy Dury: amd@varndean.ac.uk
Staff Profiles
Amy Dury
Amy Dury is a contemporary painter with solo shows in Brighton and the UK and work exhibited internationally. She appeared on Portrait Artist of the Year 2021 and has shown in the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. She was shortlisted for the Cass Arts Art Educators Prize 2024 and taught the nation on Sky Arts Masterclass Series in 2025.
Jemma Day
Jemma Day is Co founder of Brighton Alternative Photography Collective. She has exhibited internationally in Barcelona, Sydney and Amsterdam as well as Brighton and around the UK with her contemporary Printmaking, Photographic Sculptural and Painting practice. Jemma has a BA in Fine Art: Painting and MA in Photography.
Caroline Smith
Caroline Smith is a landscape artist and expert in oil and acrylic painting. With a wealth of teaching experience and as a practising artist, she is able to guide and support students in their ideas and techniques. She shows in the UK as part of the Chalk Gallery, Lewes.
https://www.chalkgallerylewes.co.uk/caroline-smith
Alumni Success
Ione Gamble
Ione is an editor and writer based in London.
Founding editor-in-chief of Polyester zine, and Polyester Podcast. She has also written a book and has been named one of the most exciting new editors shaping the future of magazines by i-D magazine, one of 15 coolest young Londoners by The Evening Standard, and a new debutante by Tatler.
Owen Davey
An award-winning Illustrator, living & working in Leicester, UK. The primary Illustrator for TwoDots which has been #1 in over 70 countries, as well as the illustrator of iPad App of the Year 2015 game, The Robot Factory. Work has been published in every continent except Antarctica, including picture books in UK, America, Australia, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Portugal, China, Sweden, Russia & South Korea.
Jason Munro
Jason Munro is an artist and designer who recently appeared on Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2024.
Alfie Dwyer
A multimedia artist, animator, and filmmaker.
His work focuses on the human body, the digital world, and dark comedy. His work has been shown internationally.
Enrichments & Trips
Enrichments
As part of your time at Varndean, you will be able to choose enrichment sessions alongside your studies. Current art enrichments include:
- Printmaking
- Ceramics
- Art Portfolio Preparation
- Art Enrichment – Talks from Artists
- Life drawing
Trips
Students will have the opportunity to go on a gallery trip to London or another exciting exhibition such as Pallant House in Chichester or the Towner in Eastbourne. In recent years we have arranged special workshops and talks with artists such as Anthony Gormley and Cornelia Parker. We enjoy regular residential trips to destinations such as Paris, Barcelona, Berlin and St Ives.
Art Enrichment
Art Enrichment encourages learners to expand their critical thinking and industry knowledge and to become clearer about their progression plans by being introduced to a range of artist practitioners. Participants will be inspired by meeting a range of professionals and hearing them talk about their life, work and ideas development. Regular visitors include Brighton artists; Murray Ballard, Photographer; Sarah Jones, Illustrator; Jon Mills, Sculptor and Andrew Gifford, Painter. These talks also include some local university and college presentations.
News
Jason Munro
Jason Munro appears on Sky Portrait Artist of the Year 2024 – reaches final three in his episode!
Freya Hatch
Varndean College Student Freya Hatch has had her painting ‘The Bond’ selected for the online exhibition as part of the Royal Academy Young Artist Show 2024.
Her piece was inspired by the modern relationship between animal and human, portraying the tranquility that stems from it.
Amy Dury
Art Programme Leader Amy Dury has been shortlisted for the Cass Arts Art Educator 2024.
In this painting the relationship between owner and pet is explored – but who owns who? The artist emphasises the elevated status of some animals, while others remain in the background, overlooked.
Creative Arts Showcase 2024
International Trips
Visual Arts love to go on international trips, most recently we’ve been to Paris, Madrid and Berlin. Our artists, designers and photographers return from visits abroad with well-used sketchbooks, hundreds of photographs and many new and creative ideas to develop in their projects back at college.