S4 Unit 1: Foundations on the Question
A Level Art & Design · Semester 4 Plan · Unit 1 of 5 · Unit 2 →
What this unit does
This unit opens the Component 2 Externally Set Assignment on the Cambridge paper itself, distributed over the vacation. You read the paper closely and work out what each question permits and quietly forbids; you match your choice to proven strengths from C1 and C3 (shown by your drawing regimen and past work, not by hopes); you defend two candidate questions one to one; and you lock one question in writing with a rationale by Friday. The whole semester runs on it. This is the exam.
Dates & span
Week S1 (Mon 2028-02-21 → 2028-02-25), 5 sessions. These dates are projected and may shift when the school publishes the calendar for that period.
Sequence of work
| Code | Session | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| U1·L1 | Course reopening and the ESA briefing | Read the Cambridge paper together. This is the exam |
| U1·L2 | Question analysis | What each question permits, and what it quietly forbids |
| U1·L3 | Strengths audit | Match questions to proven strengths from C1 and C3, not to hopes |
| U1·L4 | Question shortlist, one to one | Two candidate questions defended |
| U1·L5 | Question locked with rationale | In writing, with the lock |
Assessment
There are no attainment gates in this unit — the first, A1, sits Fri 2028-03-10 in Unit 2. One CS task: CS1 Fri 2028-02-25 (question choice with written rationale, locked one to one). See the full register.
Key content
- ◆ The strengths audit runs on what your portfolio shows, not on preference — the exam rewards what you can already do at pace.
- You lock the question in writing by Friday with a rationale grounded in evidence.
- The winter regimen closes here: your past-paper review notes and drawing-regimen evidence feed the audit directly.