Page 23 - Sixth Form Courses 2026-2028

A LEVEL
PHOTOGRAPHY

OVERVIEW Photography is a very powerful art form. During your time on the course you will
unearth captured moments of history and thought-provoking concepts that
continue to help shape our culture and society. You will deepen your skills in
capturing frozen instants, explore sequential imagery and gain a wonderful insight
into the techniques and processes of traditional and modern photography, all the
while being inspired by a range of professional photographers and artists
throughout history.

APPROACH The range of subject matter you will explore is extensive and where a thematic
response is the preferred option, you can draw from your own personal interests,
whether they be social, moral, political or simply portraits or landscapes.
Weekly support sessions offer you the opportunity to revise techniques learned in
class, whether it be in the darkroom or Adobe Photoshop CC. You will also have
access to SLR and digital cameras, studio lighting, the darkroom, digital suites and
be inducted into the photography studio.
The skills developed will allow you to widen your own personal interests in many
areas, such as advertising and marketing, social media, fashion, portraiture,
curation, photojournalism, documentary, forensic photography, graphic design and
web design.
COURSE OUTLINE Those who have studied GCSE Art will be familiar with the sketchbook approach
where you will analyse the photography and artworks of practitioners’ work as
well as developing your own ideas and personal responses and evaluating your
work as it evolves. Your imagination and passion for visual language is paramount,
and your final outcomes should validate your individual strengths and interests.
The first year starts with teacher-led workshops designed to develop your skills,
before exploring strategies for the development of your own personal investigation
project. A substantial written element will need to be incorporated to support your
practical study (1000-3000 words). This coursework counts for 60% of the marks.
The second component is an externally set assignment (40% of the final mark)
where you will choose one of eight themes to explore and develop, concluding in a
15 hour exam in the summer term.
Assessment by course tutors of ongoing work takes place every six weeks.
Final work is marked internally at the end of each summer term, and a sample is
moderated by the exam board.
FURTHER INFORMATION Photography can be matched with a range of other A level subjects.
If a student wishes to pursue photography into Higher Education, they would
normally follow a one-year Foundation course before going on to a degree course,
although this is not always the case.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS For acceptance onto the course, you should normally have achieved a minimum of
30 points from the student’s best six GCSE/IGCSE/BTEC (or equivalent) courses.
Students who have not studied Photography before should ideally be conversant
with a SLR camera and would benefit from having access to one.

EXAM BOARD AND 7206
SPECIFICATION https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/art-and-design/a-level/art-and-design-7206/
specification
CONTACT Teacher in charge of Photography
Mrs J Turnbull
turnbull.j@millfieldschool.com

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