Photography

Applications Open: - 30 January 2026

Applications Close: - 8 May 2026

Entry Requirements: - For entry onto our A Level and BTEC courses we require:

• a minimum of 6 separately identifiable GCSE subjects at an average grade 5.5 or above and at least a grade 5 in English and a grade 4 in Mathematics;

• a grade 6 or above in the chosen course of study or a related subject as specified in the sixth form prospectus.

• two grade 7sin Mathematics or Sciences, to study 2 or more Sciences or Mathematics and Science.

How to Apply: - Please apply via KentChoices

Course Content:

Our approach allows for a flexible structure and an excellent choice of experiences tailored to meet the needs and aspirations of each individual student.

The emphasis is on achieving a balance of technical skill, personal expression and contextual knowledge, with the first half of each topic being taught, and then further developed by each student’s own aspirations.

Assessment:

The work will be internally marked during the course with External Moderation by a Visiting Examiner occurring at the end of the course.

The units that are studied are:

Component 1 “Personal Investigation” - This starts as a general introductory course experimenting with a range of media and approaches, then each student generates a topic of their choice to explore in detail worth 60% of the overall marks.

Component 2 “Externally Set Assignment” is the exam paper with 8 starting points. Students choose one to develop ideas during the preparatory stage and then complete a final piece in 15 hours of supervised study worth 40% of the overall marks.

GCSE Grade 5 or above in any Art and Design endorsement OR a Portfolio of own photographs.

Photography overview

The skills learned through Photography are entirely transferrable to many situations due to the focus upon creative learning, experimentation and independent thinking. Stand-alone workshops/events also play a part in widening the student’s range of experiences. A wide range of photographic opportunities are available to each student from which to construct an individual programme. These include Experimental Imagery, Portraiture, Landscape, Still-life, Documentary, Photojournalism, Photographic Installation. Critical/Historical/Contextual studies permeate all areas and visits to Visual Art Exhibitions (virtual at the moment) are an essential element and a site-specific visit is used as a starting point for many of the projects. Having your own camera would be an advantage but not compulsory for this course (as long as you have a camera phone), but as you will learning darkroom photography as well as digital photography then it is highly recommended that you look into purchasing a 35mm SLR camera (Minolta Dynax is a good, affordable range and about £25 from Ebay), and a Digital SLR camera (again a decent reconditioned DSLR camera is fine above 8 megapixel). The school will supply and develop black and white film and supply all printing materials.