Exploring Media Prize Winners | 2019

Last year we introduced 'Exploring Media Prize Winners', so we could award some of the fantastic exhibition boards created by our first year Fine Art, Graphics and Photography students. This worked so well last year we decided to do it once again this year! We have three categories for each subject - exhibition board, sketchbook, and outcomes, and for Art and Photography we gave two awards for each of these as we have a lot more students to choose from in those endorsements!

A new addition for this year, however, was that we decided it was only right to properly showcase all of this fantastic work by proudly displaying them around college so they can be seen by staff and students outside our department! Given that we had a whopping 75 boards to display, we had to split these up onto two corridors, the senior management corridor near student services, and the psychology corridor by the lecture theatre. And so, when handing in their 'Exploring Media' projects, each student went and exhibited their own board, and helped their fellow students put theirs up as well. This was great experience and practice for when it's their turn to do their end of year exhibition in the second year.
These are now all up and they really do look brilliant, so thank you and well done to our first years for helping us display these, they are really worth a look if you get chance! These will be displayed from now until next year, when we will once again be running a similar 'mini-exhibition'  for our AL1 students. All our prize winners are displayed together outside the Principals office near student services. 

So without further ado, congratulations to this year's 'Exploring Media Prize Winners'! 

Fine Art

Libby Hearsum
Exhibition Board

Cara Smith
Exhibition Board

Caitlin Earnshaw
Sketchbook

Nicole Guilliam
Sketchbook

 Molly Scott
Outcomes

Charlotte Morris
Outcomes

Graphics

Jasmine Frater
Exhibition Board

Caitlin Earnshaw
Sketchbook

Georgie Butterworth
Outcomes

Photography

Jordan Oakley Ellis
Exhibition Board

Olivia Atkinson
Exhibition Board

Amelia Everest
Sketchbook

Chris Scattergood
Sketchbook

Caleb Stokes-Hayes
Outcomes

Emily Brownett
Outcomes

Student Rep Learner Voice! | Hand In 2019

See below a guest post by two members of our lovely Student Rep team, Tom and Laura, who have put together a response to the first ever Learner Voice survey run by our Student Reps! 

After everyone submitted their work a couple of weeks ago, students took part in a Learner Voice specifically for the Student Reps! Here are the results of that feedback...

New/Better guillotines:

This comes up as a big issue in many of the learner voices. The guillotine downstairs was fixed recently - meaning there are currently four in the department - and there currently isn’t enough budget to be able to purchase anymore. Until then if there are any direct issues with any of the guillotines letting a student rep or staff member know will help any problems fixed as soon as possible.

Printing credits:

This is another issue that comes up in almost every learner voice. We are trying what we can to get more printer credits for Art, Graphics and Photography students, but for the moment it will have to remain the same.

Disruption/disrespect within the classrooms:

This has been a growing issue recently within the department. Most commonly there seems to be a problem within the downstairs studio, making it an uncomfortable environment for other students to be in. The student reps and staff are currently trying to solve this issue, and are planning on implementing some studio rules to help tackle this problem in the near future. Until then we ask people to be respectful and considerate of the facilities and classes within the department, it is a high-stress time for many right now and we ask you to be respectful of this. If you have any suggestions on how to tackle this issue or have a specific issue to report you can speak to the student representatives anytime and we can try and help! There is only so much disruption that can be tolerated however sanctions will start to be put into place if this issue doesn’t start to be resolved!

Cheaper supplies:

This was a surprising common response within this student voice, particularly with people asking for cheaper glue sticks. Many things within the studio such as inks, paints, newsprint and printing tools are free to use, and everything sold within the shop is sold at the same price it was bought so we cannot do anything about this! In comparison to other shops, the art shop at college is so much cheaper!

More space within the department:

Sadly we can’t just magic up space or build extensions onto the department. We’d love to hear any more suggestions on how this could be tackled without knocking down walls or compromising space for the classes being taught!

More drying racks: 

We don’t have the space for more drying racks unfortunately. If anyone has any ways that we could put in more drying racks by using less space in the studios we’d love to hear them!

Lessons learning more techniques:

This was mentioned by quite a few people within this learner voice and is something we definitely want to consider - particularly for next years students during the exploring media project. If anyone has any suggestions for what new techniques we could consider/what they would like to have extra lessons on learning, let a student rep or staff member know and we can discuss it within a future meeting! We’d love to hear what things you guys want to learn and what things you feel would benefit you more in the exploring media project, especially skills that we can continue with and use in the coursework and exam project!

Price list:

A new price list has recently been emailed out to everyone, and will be going up around the studios! Remember the art shop is closed on Wednesdays, and certain materials on the list may need to be ordered. Patience has recently done a fancy new sign for the office door with all the prices on too!

Other smaller mentions: 

We are currently looking at ways in which we can put a bin in the darkroom safely, where people won’t trip over it! 

And finally: some people wrote on learner voice that they wish the department was open out of lessons - it is! The department has always been open out of lesson time for students to work on their homework or class work. In the downstairs studio this area is the computers and in the upstairs studio it is to the right hand side of the class. Please remember to keep noise at a minimum though, as mentioned before noise and disruption is getting to be a larger issue in the department.

Tom and Laura :)

Life Drawing at ROAR | A2 Trip 2019

Yesterday we had our first ever experience of life drawing here in the TRC art department, and it was absolutely fantastic! The chance to do life drawing was such an unmissable opportunity for our students, it is an invaluable experience that we hope really inspired them and is something they will carry with them in their artistic endeavors in the future! 

Rotherham Open Arts Renaissance (ROAR) is an organisation funded by the Arts Council that is situated in the heart of Rotherham. They offer some really exciting opportunities such as artist talks and evening classes, so please check out their website for more information or follow them on Facebook to keep an eye out for any interesting events you could get involved in!  http://rotherhamroar.com/

So, at 1 o'clock yesterday afternoon we headed down into Rotherham, and by 2 we had arrived and were all set up ready to get started! The session was lead by our very own Lyn, who did a fantastic job squeezing a days worth of teaching into just 2 hours! We were so impressed by how engaged and up for the challenge all our students were, their enthusiasm, hard work and attitude in representing the department and the college never fails to make us proud!

Here are just a few snaps of what was a really fantastic trip, we already can't wait to go again!

Learner Voice | February 2019

After a wonderful day in Manchester last week with our A2’s, we ran, as we always do, a learner voice survey on the coach back to TRC. As we do with every learner voice, we asked our students what they love about the art department at TRC, and what they wish for if there was something that would help improve the department and their experience here.

What do you love about Art/Graphics/Photography at Thomas Rotherham College? 

Staff and Support Available – 50%

This category also took the number one spot in last year’s A2 learner voice, this year however, the amount of students telling us this is something they love has risen from 38% to 50%! It is always fantastic to hear that our students feel supported and feel comfortable in the department, this helps create a productive environment not just for you guys but for us as well!  

‘The staff are helpful and polite, I always feel supported’

‘Art department are friendly and helpful’

‘The working environment is friendly and comfortable. Easy to approach someone for help’

Open Door Policy – 37.5%

Another oldie, but a goldie! This is once again mentioned every year, this year being even more popular with 37.5% compared to last year’s 29%. Students being able to use the facilities independently we think is so important to the work ethic and the general atmosphere across the department, and obviously you folks agree!

‘I really like the open door policy and just the general atmosphere in the department! Everyone’s so lovely! Thanks! 😊’

‘The open door policy is really helpful’

Facilities, Materials Available and Range of Techniques – 37.5%

Every year we introduce new techniques and materials to help create a diverse and all-encompassing course as best we can for our students during their time here. We will continue to do this as best we can, so it is great to hear that this is appreciated!

Specifically, the darkroom was mentioned by 17.5% of students in not only photography, but also in fine art!

‘Pretty much everything: staff, materials available, ask to do what we want and not to stick to just typically paintings etc.’

‘Great access to materials and help due to trust’

‘Amazing facilities’

Art Shop and Camera Loans – 22.5%

It’s great to hear that the equipment available from the technician’s office is something you love! This is something that, again, will not be going anywhere, and we only hope to keep improving this with more materials available from the shop and the technical support available for you.

‘Cheap materials’

‘The art store and being able to borrow stuff from Patience’

‘Using the cameras’

Repro – 17.5%

Yes!! We love Jane and Janet!! They are vital to the running of our department, for both students and staff! I think this one comment sums it up pretty well.

‘REPRO!! – Life Savers!’

Freedom of the Course – 10%

Students are encouraged to choose pathways that suits them and their skills and interests, so it is something they will enjoy and feel comfortable with, and this is something a lot of you said you loved about the department, which is brilliant to hear!

‘I like the freedom we get in lesson’

‘Friendly teachers. Amazing Facilities. Freedom.’

A few honourable mentions… 

• Purple books
• Studio
• Computer area

What do you wish for in Art/Graphics/Photography at Thomas Rotherham College?

PRINTER: More credits/Better quality/Faster printer – 42.5%

EVERY TIME. We are very aware that this is becoming a bigger and bigger issue for all of our students across every subject and both year groups, and as we say every time, unfortunately there is not much we can do about this. We will once again speak to Jane and Janet about the quality of the printer and see if we can figure out why the LRC quality is better, my guess would be that it actually gets a lot less use than ours. Last year we switched our printer with one from Chancellors and there was a noticeable increase in quality and speed for a time, but we now seem to be back where we started again. As for printer credits, this has been a huge issue this year for many reasons, but we will continue to keep fighting your corner and asking if our students can be allocated more credits than other students in college due to the sheer amount of printing you guys are required to do in order to do your work. Hopefully something will be done about this soon, but we can’t guarantee anything – we’re sorry!

Disruption in Classrooms – 22.5%

This is a brand new category for our leaner voice, and astonishingly it has come in at number two in what our students have said they wish to improve most about the department. There were several examples given in the survey, the most common being that the rooms, particularly downstairs in the computer area, are too loud, making it difficult to work in, and a feeling of disrespect of the rooms by some students with regards to leaving mess, and therefore being inconsiderate to fellow students. This is something we really want to look into, as we said, this has never been mentioned before in a learner voice, so this seems to be unique to this year’s particular cohorts.

We will be discussing this with all Art staff and student reps. If you have an opinion or idea of how we could manage this without disadvantaging or affecting the open door policy (number 2 in what you love!) then please speak to your student reps, that’s what they are here for!

Guillotine! – 20%

It almost feels strange having this so far down the list – but I’m not complaining! *instantly jinxes next year’s learner voice where it’ll be back up at number one again*… I must say though it is a relief to see that this has gone from 53% in 2017, to 28% in 2018, to now 20%! And interestingly no mention about this at all in Photography. But I suppose it just wouldn’t be learner voice without you lot asking for more/better guillotines would it! We recently fixed the large guillotine downstairs so we now have 4 working guillotines in the department. Of course if we ever have the budget available we would love to treat ourselves to a lovely new guillotine, but until that day comes, our current 4 will have to do!

Nothing – 7%

A few honourable mentions… 

More freedom

Given that this was mentioned by 10% of you as something you love about the department, there seems to be a bit of a split opinion on this subject. We do encourage you to make

More comfortable tables at a better height (upstairs)

This is a new one! We realise the tables upstairs can be a bit awkward at times as there are high stools and the tables themselves are quite old, but they do the job and unfortunately, we can’t afford to replace them! We will have a look into more comfortable stools or chairs at a better height.

More radiators in the classrooms upstairs

It has been INCREDIBLY cold recently in the classrooms, particularly upstairs. This is getting looked into by our site staff, as we understand it can be very difficult to work in such a cold environment – we hate being cold too!

Bring back art club

Art club was introduced last year during the ESA period. It basically meant the studios were open at 8am every day and while 5.30 2 afternoons a week. We will discuss this in the next Art staff meeting and see if it is possible to bring this back.

More access to cameras, particularly at half term

We have 8 cameras in the department that are all available to be booked out over half term. The loans work as follows: loan time is generally 2 days, but this depends on when you book it out. If you book it on a Thursday that loan will automatically roll over to Monday, since we aren’t here at a weekend. The same applies for half terms, so if you book a camera out on a Thursday or Friday before we go on holiday, it will be due the first Monday back. If you are doing a photoshoot over the holidays then we really encourage you to use one of our cameras for this, that’s what they are there for! The only issue is when everyone is doing photoshoots, they can go quite quick – so make sure you book one early!

For computers to work better/faster

If there is a general consensus from students in the department that this is becoming an issue, we will speak to computer services about this.  



Paper recycling upstairs

We’ve only just got a bin for downstairs and now you want one upstairs as well! We can’t win can we!!

But no this would be brilliant, especially as just as much paper is thrown away upstairs as it is downstairs, and the new recycling bin seems to be working really well down there. So we will definitely ask about this!

More warning when there’s going to be lots of homework

This was mentioned in terms of large amounts of homework given over half terms and holidays. So just to clarify, there will always be more homework given over the holidays than on a normal college week. This happens every holiday!

More information on what we can print/What we can buy from the shop

We will speak to repro about putting together a ‘price list’ of what’s available, but until then – if there is something specific you want to print but aren’t sure if you can, just ask one of us or even email Repro! They will be more than happy to help 😊

As for the art shop, we have price lists up in both classrooms and one in my office that says what we sell and how much for. Again, if there is something specific you want to know if we sell or not, just come and ask me! And if we don’t sell it I can look into getting some in stock for you 😊

Materials should be free

If only! This is almost always mentioned, and as I always say, we can’t give materials away for free. Inks, paints, newsprint etc. is all free for you to use in the classrooms, and everything sold in the shop is sold at cost price (we don’t make any profit on it!). If there was a way of making anything cheaper, we would, but as things stand at the moment we can’t I’m afraid. Sorry!

A2 Manchester Trip | February 2019

This year our annual A2 Manchester trip ran on Friday the 1st of February, setting off bright and early at 8.30 (after everyone impressively arriving on time!) and making our way over a beautifully snowy Woodhead to our first stop, the Whitworth gallery.




At the Whitworth, there was a great variety of exhibitions. William Kentridge's 'Thick Time' included a brilliantly diverse mix of video, installations, tapestries and prints, while the 'Exchanges' exhibition showcased works by Gillian Wearing, Tracey Emin, William Hogarth and many more. There were also exhibitions by Alice Kettle, Goya and Hogarth, and a collection of Western European wallpapers. 



After a couple of hours in the gallery, we met for lunch in the promenade, before heading back to the coach to make our way to the Manchester City Gallery. 

At the Manchester City Gallery we had another great range of work to look at, including the excellent photography exhibition, Martin Parr's 'Return to Manchester', and a collection of artists self portraits with over 70 works from the 18th to the 21st century. The Manchester City is also one of a select few galleries around the country (including the Millenium Galleries!) to be exhibiting 12 pieces from the 'Leonardo Da Vinci: A Life in Drawing'. 

Then before we knew it, it was half past 3 and time to head home! Thank you to all our A2's for working so hard and just generally being lovely, as always! We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did!