What do you love about Art/Graphics/Photography at Thomas Rotherham College?
Staff, Support and Atmosphere – 71%
Wow, this is the
highest number of responses we have ever had for a category in learner voice! We
are so pleased that so many of you have clearly enjoyed your time in the
department as well as feeling encouraged and supported by staff and fellow
students. It means a lot to us that our efforts are appreciated and that we have
been an enjoyable part of your experience here at TRC, because we love this
department as much as you do and so are always aiming to help create a positive
and productive atmosphere. Such a creative and friendly environment also
wouldn’t be possible without all the talented, enthusiastic and kind
individuals who join us every year!
‘I think the bright and colourful nature of the art department make it
a nice place to be’
‘Really friendly teachers
and staff who are really willing to help with anything’
‘I love how teachers let us express ourselves. The whole department
encourages each others work and it’s a lovely environment’
The
atmosphere of the department! Teachers and pupils are inspiring and very
lovely’
Resources and Facilities – 32%
We are always aiming to give every student the opportunity to use professional and exciting equipment and resources they may not have used before, so it’s great to see so many of you love the facilities available here in the art department!
‘I love the range of equipment’
‘Loved the large space and facilities’
‘The room has lots of bits and it’s really good with the new
guillotine. And the facilities really help.’
‘I love using the darkroom and trying things I haven’t before’
Independence and Freedom in Work – 20%
As a creative subject we encourage everyone to create work and projects that are unique and individual to them, and with that naturally comes a lot of independence and freedom, so we love to hear that you feel comfortable to express yourself creatively and free to explore your own ideas and techniques.
‘I love the freedom that both subjects allow and how expressive I am
allowed to be with all kinds of work’
‘I am always given independence to make decisions about
my work, but still given guidance to ensure I was working in the right
direction’
‘I love the chance to be as creative as I want and I
can use my own knowledge in my work’
‘Accommodates for all types of work 😊’
‘Freedom of ideas’
Open Door System – 8%
This year open door has been run significantly different than it has been previously due to the various restrictions put in place this year for Covid. As the name suggests, this used to be ‘open’ all day, any time, for as long as students needed to use it. We were initially sceptical at the start of the year whether it would be just as beneficial and convenient as it always has been with a structured system in place. But we have been so impressed by how well the online booking sheets have worked and how much of an impact this has had on the department. Open door sessions have felt much more productive and useful for those using them than before, and on no occasions have we had disruptive behaviour outside of lessons. We will definitely be keeping this in place moving forward!
‘I love the help and facilities we were always offered such as open
door’
‘Open door has been amazing!'
What do you wish for in Art/Graphics/Photography at Thomas Rotherham College?
More/Better
Guillotines – 20%
This
year we have more guillotines than EVER in the department, with two brand new
ones bought last year. We understand that one of the guillotines downstairs can
sometimes cut slightly wonky, so we will definitely have a look at how we can
fix that. To prevent overcrowding in those areas we could look at moving these to
different parts of the room so they are not all in one place, however for the
time being – we can’t afford another one, sorry!
We
had 3 requests in Photography for a guillotine in the darkroom to use instead
of scissors. We will look into this!
Printing
– More Credits/More Printers/Better Printers – 16%
Another wish that gets mentioned every year! Printing is a continual issue, for students - and staff! We understand that this year in particular, it would have been really useful to have an extra printer upstairs for those in lessons or open doors in different bubbles to downstairs, and even just for downstairs, the printer does always have a large queue! We are also very aware of how quickly printer credits get used and how this impacts our subjects. We will ask, as we do every year, to see if art students could be given more credits for the exceptional amount of printing required by our subjects. We will also ask about the possibility of getting another printer for the department.
Nothing!
– 16%
To
have this at the same number of responses as printing, we are very grateful.
Thank you.
More
time to finish work/Less pressure – 14%
Timetable
changes as a result of Covid have created challenges in how we approach homework
and classwork deadlines and spreading out tasks to give students enough time to
complete them. The two week nature of the timetable in particular and the
limitations to open door have contributed to this. However, the amount of work
and the strict deadlines we keep are required in order for you to achieve your
A Level. It would be counter-productive to extend deadlines or set less work as
it would eventually be detrimental to your overall project. We understand creative
subjects in particular can be very time consuming, but it is unfortunately the
nature of the courses.
Bigger
Studio – 8%
We’re
on it! For the last few months we have been working on this behind the scenes
and we will be getting a brand new studio over summer ready for next year! This
will be much bigger, easier to use, and will be an a actual normal shaped room
without a diagonal wall. Watch this space!
More
opportunities to learn new techniques – 8%
This
was mostly suggesting more lessons focussed on Photoshop which we will
definitely look into. We would also love to expand the art facilities such as
in 3D work as someone requested, but unfortunately, we are often fighting for
room space and budget!
To
do it again without Covid – 6%
It
truly breaks our heart that this cohort have not had the full experience of
college life and had so many months in the department taken away from lockdowns
and isolations. We would definitely also wish to do it all again without Covid
and to have been able to spend a full two years with you all.
A
few honourable mentions…
More
trips
We
would love more trips! Especially after losing out on 2 this year due to Covid.
We will definitely be aiming for more trips as soon as they are doable again!
More
funding – particularly for new Adobe software!
That
would certainly be incredible!
To
help younger students and show them what we might’ve needed in the first year
This
is such a lovely idea! Something we would love to accommodate once different
year groups can interact again.
Fix
the art toilets
We
will speak to Site about this!
How was your experience of lockdown in Art/Graphics/Photography at Thomas Rotherham College?
Support
was amazing – 61%
Amazing
to hear, thank you!
‘Staff were extremely helpful and tried their
absolute hardest! Much love’
‘There was an
effective and constant support system that helped me to understand my work and
made sure my work was at a consistent level’
‘Art gave me endless amounts of encouragement
and reassurance that I was doing well’
‘We had a lot
of one to one support and teachers were very understanding’
Difficult
without access to resources/equipment – 14%
This
was inevitable for practical subjects such as ours. Unfortunately there was
nothing we could do other than drop materials off for students at their homes
and try and be as resourceful as possible given the circumstances! But it is
near impossible to teach and study our subjects remotely without any
availability of the facilities in the department.
‘Difficult to do work without equipment’
‘It limited what techniques I wanted to explore, however I discovered
a love for simple drawings’
‘It was quite difficult practical wise but teachers were very helpful
and comforting’
Loved
lesson interactions and engagement on Teams – 8%
‘I enjoyed how interactive lockdown was
online, being able to show what we had achieved’
‘Everyone did
amazing in lockdown, nothing could’ve been better. The lessons were really
engaging and being able to carry on printing at home was amazing.’
Material
and equipment drop offs were very helpful – 6%
‘Teachers
gave lots of support during lockdown, dropping materials to us if needed’
‘I appreciated how you sent us any printing
and/or equipment to still be able to achieve our best work’
Struggled or found it difficult personally – 6%
Reprographics printing service was really useful – 4%
Liked
the change to 3 hour lessons – 2%
