A Level Art & Design · Semester 2 Plan
A Level Art & Design · Semester 2 of 4 (course map) · ← S1 C1 Portfolio · S3 C3 part 2 →
Component 3 (Personal Investigation), part 1, G11, spring 2026-27. You have one session every teaching day, Mon 2027-02-22 → Fri 2027-06-11: 72 sessions. You propose your own theme and lock it in writing through consultation by week S3. You then record, explore, develop, and produce a mid-point portfolio, and you draft the C3 research paper alongside this work.
Dates: These dates are provisional and may shift when the school publishes the 2026-27 spring calendar. The A1–A4 sitting dates and the week labels S1–S18 will be confirmed then.
The five units
| Unit | Weeks | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| U1 Foundations on the Investigation | S1–S3 | theme locked in writing |
| U2 Recording & Sustained Study | S4–S5 | A1 Fri 2027-03-19 |
| U3 Exploration & Artist Study | S6, S8–S9 (flexes around the S7 mock float) | A2 Fri 2027-04-23 |
| U4 Development | S10–S14 | A3 Fri 2027-05-28 |
| U5 Mid-Point Portfolio | S15–S16 | A4 Fri 2027-06-11 |
Each unit page has its own session table. Full attainment/CS register: 9479 S2 Assessments.
Week by week
| Wk | Dates | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| S1 | 02-21 → 27 | U1 opens: read a 90/100 investigation; defend three candidate themes 1:1; consultation round 1 |
| S2 | 02-28 → 03-06 | Proposal drafts (theme, aims, source plan, artist shortlist); consultation 2 Fri 03-05; CS1 |
| S3 | 03-07 → 13 | Theme locked in writing; statement of intent; research plan; first primary-source shoot; CS2 |
| S4 | 03-14 → 20 | U2: Stage 1 page; sustained study 1 (2-day); A1 Fri 03-19 — recording milestone (AO1) |
| S5 | 03-21 → 27 | A1 feedback + three actions; sustained study 2 (2-day); build recording pages; CS3 |
| S6 | 03-28 → 04-03 | U3: twelve media experiments (3-day run); keep-or-change Fri 04-02; CS4 |
| S7 | 04-04 → 10 | Qingming mock week — no regular classes; independent sketchbook brief if permitted |
| S8 | 04-11 → 17 | Artist 1 in full (analysis, context, method, response); CS5 |
| S9 | 04-18 → 24 | Artist 2 + bridge piece + scale trial; Stage 3 pages; A2 Fri 04-23 (AO2+AO3) |
| S10 | 04-25 → 05-01 | U4: compose + build composition 1 (2-day); research paper outline issued; CS6 Thu 04-29 |
| S11 | 05-02 → 08 | May Day (~05-01 → 05); resolve + photograph composition 1 — reduced week |
| S12 | 05-09 → 15 | Composition 2 (compose/build/resolve); paper section drafts Fri 05-14; CS7 |
| S13 | 05-16 → 22 | Critique both; act on it; targeted tests (2-day); choose direction + written rejection; CS8 |
| S14 | 05-23 → 29 | Evaluation + Stage 6 + paper draft 1; A3 Fri 05-28 (AO3) |
| S15 | 05-30 → 06-05 | U5: choose + refine mid-point piece (2-day); integrate bibliography; page architecture; CS9 Thu 06-03 |
| S16 | 06-06 → 12 | Submission week: photograph, sequence, edit, supervised QC; A4 Fri 06-11 (AO1–AO4), no edits after |
| S17 | 06-13 → 19 | Exams & close: EoT sitting (the Final); mid-point returned 1:1. The Final’s format will be confirmed in class. |
| S18 | 06-20 → 26 | Summer production briefing — teacher-set targets, piece by piece; semester close. Exact dates will be confirmed in class. |