S4 Unit 3: Exploration & Artist Study
A Level Art & Design · Semester 4 Plan · Unit 3 of 5 · ← Unit 2 | Unit 4 →
What this unit does
This is the exploration and artist-study stage at exam pace, across AO2 Explore and AO3 Develop. You turn your A1 feedback into targets; run eight experiments (drawn from selections you have already proven) to a written keep-or-change decision; analyse two artists and answer them in visible work within single sessions; and produce a bridge piece and a scale trial — at the supervised-test dimensions — to carry your study into development. The unit closes with A2, marked across AO2 and AO3.
Dates & span
Weeks S4–S5 (about 2028-03-12 → 2028-03-25), 10 sessions. These dates may shift when the school publishes the calendar for this period.
Sequence of work
| Code | Session | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| U3·L1 | Feedback; plan the experiments | Targets first, then risk |
| U3·L2–L3 | Studio: media experiments (2-day session) | Eight experiments; what carries the question |
| U3·L4 | Artist 1: analysis and response in one pass | Analyse, then answer in work |
| U3·L5 | Artist 1 response work | Influence in the work |
| U3·L6 | Artist 2: analysis and response | Two angles, one question |
| U3·L7 | Studio: bridge piece | From study into development |
| U3·L8 | Studio: scale trial | At the test scale; fix what broke |
| U3·L9 | Exploration pages | Reasoning, not a swatch chart |
| U3·L10 | A2: Exploration and artist study | The whole unit, marked together |
Assessment
A2 — Fri 2028-03-24: exploration and artist study (experiments, media selection, two artists with visible work responses, bridge piece, scale trial), marked against AO2+AO3.
CS tasks:
- CS4 — Fri 2028-03-17: experiment documentation + artist 1 response
- CS5 — Tue 2028-03-21: artist pages + bridge piece check
See the full register.
Key content
- ◆ Your media choices carry conceptual logic even at exam pace.
- ◆ Citation without response earns nothing — the response is the evidence.
- The scale trial happens at the dimensions the supervised test will use: surprises belong here, not in the test room.