Courses — BNDS A-Level Programme

S1 Unit 4: Development

A Level Art & Design · Semester 1 Plan · Unit 4 of 5 · ← Unit 3 | Unit 5 →

What this unit does

This is the development stage, assessed under AO3 Develop. You build two full compositions — your chosen direction, then a genuine alternative you reject — and critique both against your intention. Targeted tests then answer only what the critique left unresolved. The unit closes by fully planning your final outcome before A3 reviews the whole development trail. AO3 leads into AO4 in the final lesson.

Dates & span

Wed 2026-11-11 → Fri 2026-12-11 (W11 → W15), around the second G11 Juniors Days block (Wed–Fri of W14). These dates may shift when the school publishes the calendar for this period.

Lessons

  • Lesson 10: Composition 1 — composed from your own studies using tracing-paper overlays, built over a two-day run, resolved and honestly photographed.
  • Lesson 11: Composition 2 and Critique — the rejected alternative, built deliberately faster; full-protocol structured critique, after which something changes because of what you heard.
  • Lesson 12: Targeted Tests and Direction — no decoration; your final direction stated with the rejection in full sentences; written evaluation; a Stage 6 page as a decision trail.
  • Lesson 13: Final Plan and A3 — final composition plan, solving thumbnails, palette argued from meaning; A3 sat; the plan amended from feedback.

Assessment

This unit gates on A3, Thu 2026-12-10 — a development milestone (compositions 1 and 2, targeted tests, written evaluation, final composition plan) marked against AO3. CS tasks: CS8 Fri 2026-11-20 (both compositions photographed and laid out) and CS9 Fri 2026-11-27 (targeted tests + critique response), both direct practice for A3. See the full register.

Key content

  • Keep the one-sentence direction from A2 physically present at your desk. Development that drifts from it is conferenced the same day.
  • Two-day builds never restart — carrying a piece through is part of the work. Composition 2’s one-day build is intentional pressure, and the process moves faster the second time.
  • The rejection paragraph (your final direction, Fri of Lesson 12) carries a lot of weight in the AO4 story.
  • Your final plan should be clear enough that a capable stranger could begin the piece from it. Choose palette and materials for meaning and name them as such.
  • Documentation matters at submission: a bad photograph loses real marks.