A Level Art & Design · S2 Assessments
A Level Art & Design · Semester 2 Plan · full register, spring 2026-27 (Component 3 Personal Investigation part 1, G11)
Grading follows the BNDS assessment framework: Attainment 50% · Course Skills 20% · Learning Behaviour 10% · End of Term Exam 20%. A1–A4 are the attainment layer (portfolio milestones marked against the 9479 AOs); CS1–CS9 are the course-skills layer, each direct practice for the attainment it precedes; the 20% End of Term category is met by the Final (below).
The spring 2027 dates below are provisional and may shift once the school publishes the spring calendar. Times and weekdays are given as currently planned.
Attainments (50%) — A1–A4
| Code | Date | Milestone | AOs | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Fri 2027-03-19 | Recording: approved intention, Stage 1 pages, first sustained study, supporting recording | AO1 | Unit 2 |
| A2 | Fri 2027-04-23 | Exploration & artist study: twelve experiments, media selection, artist pages, bridge piece, Stage 3 pages | AO2+AO3 | Unit 3 |
| A3 | Fri 2027-05-28 | Development + research paper draft 1: compositions 1+2, targeted tests, evaluation, Stage 6 page | AO3 (integration in view) | Unit 4 |
| A4 | Fri 2027-06-11 | Mid-point portfolio: recording, exploration, artists, development, one resolved piece, research paper draft; sequenced and edited | AO1–AO4 | Unit 5 |
Course Skills tasks (20%)
| CS | Date | Task | Format | Practices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS1 | Fri 2027-03-05 | Proposal draft: theme, aims, primary source plan, artist shortlist | Written annotation | A1 (lock) |
| CS2 | Fri 2027-03-12 | Statement of intent + annotated references | Written annotation | A1 |
| CS3 | Fri 2027-03-26 | Recording pages build check | Sketchbook | A1 (consolidates) |
| CS4 | Fri 2027-04-02 | Twelve experiments documented | Sketchbook | A2 |
| CS5 | Fri 2027-04-16 | Artist 1 pages: analysis, method, response | Written annotation | A2 |
| CS6 | Thu 2027-04-29 | Research paper outline populated | Written annotation | A3 |
| CS7 | Fri 2027-05-14 | Research paper section drafts | Written annotation | A3 |
| CS8 | Fri 2027-05-21 | Targeted tests + critique response | Sketchbook | A3 |
| CS9 | Thu 2027-06-03 | Bibliography + source integration check | Written annotation | A4 |
There are nine CS tasks, one per non-attainment teaching week. Week S7 (the Qingming period) carries no CS task; it falls under the Learning Behaviour layer.
The Final (End of Term Exam category, 20%)
The 20% category is satisfied by the Final: a teacher-marked assessment of your portfolio-so-far against the Cambridge criteria. There is no exam paper, no invigilation, and no new task. This class sits no department finals, and the date will be confirmed in class.