textiles Technology is taught to all girls in the Lower School. Those choosing to take Textiles Technology at GCSE have two hours of lessons a week, this rises to five hours if girls opt to study Art Textiles at A-Level.
Once again the Speech Day Fashion Show was an outstanding display of innovation and creativity.
Year I
Girls learn how to use a sewing machine, basic skills and are taught hand embroidery stitches. They also learn about different fibres and fabrics and how they are constructed. Work pieces include:
Making a decorative piece of felt which is then constructed into a needle case.
A stuffed patchwork and hand dyed cushion.
An alphabet tile
Year II
Girls develop their skills and concentrate on using a sewing machine over its full range of stitches and working with a wide range of materials. They learn new embellishment and decoration techniques as well as construction. Work pieces include:
Making a buttonhole
Silk screen printing
Appliqué
Making a tote bag complete with a quilted pocket
Making a printed coin purse
Year III
Work this year concentrates on fashion design and girls are given more freedom to experiment with their own ideas. They are taught in detail about the construction and performance of various fibres and fabrics and also more decoration techniques. Girls use computerised sewing machines to produce embroidery and learn about industrial design and manufacturing processes to aid them in their own work. The items made this year are a small decorative cushion cover and a skirt of their own style and design and in the summer term, a laminated and embroidered clutch purse.
The GCSE course follows the AQA syllabus.
Year IV
Class work concentrates on the development of practical skills and thecreative design process where the outcome is a practical work bag, with decorative techniques to be used in Year V, while prep focuses on theory, including the learning of industrial issues and advances in fabric technology.
Year V
The focus now switches to the Controlled Assessment which is worth 60% of the final grade. Girls produce a textile item of their own design, from a choice of design tasks provided by the exam board. This is accompanied by documentation explaining their design and production processes, including the use of smart fabrics, designing for sustainability and mass production. Revision and preparation for the written paper occupies much of the last term of lessons.
AS Level
Girls are required to develop one long research project, commonly incorporating both three dimensional work and some form of print. This enables girls to explore ideas creatively at a more individual level and to experiment with a variety of new textile techniques. The project includes a critical studies component which is supported by personal research into related themes or areas, showing the girls’ understanding of the ways artists work. In the summer term girls select a controlled test topic and work in a more independent manner to create a collection of developed ideas within the constraint of a set time limit.
A2 Level
The course draws on the experience gained at AS. The girls are required to produce one main research project. They are required to work independently at greater depth and with more refinement than at AS level. The critical studies component is also more detailed with a greater in depth knowledge of how they relate the work of artists and designers to their own development. At this level they need to produce a conclusion. Finally, girls prepare for and then undertake a controlled assignment in the summer term over 15 hours.
Wherever possible, extra curricular workshops and visits will be arranged for girls to access if interested.
The UVI Textiles girls have just visited the V and A Museum, Liberty’s and Tate Modern in London and have been inspired by the vast array of interesting works to be found there.
The Year IV Textiles Technology group and the LVI Art and Textiles girls are very much looking forward to the extravaganza that is the annual Clothes Show Live on Friday 3rd December.
Sixth Form life drawing can be accessed by all doing a form of Art and Design A Level.
A Sixth Form dressmaking club runs every week in a lunchtime session, providing girls who may not do Textiles A Level, with the opportunity to make a garment for their own use.
A Year III and IV club runs in a lunchtime session every week for girls from the whole of the year groups to expand their knowledge of Art and Design and Textiles through fun activities and areas of specific interest they may have.