Back to search results

Photography A Level

Whitstable School, The

Bellevue Road, Whitstable, Kent, CT5 1PX

GCE A/AS Level or Equivalent
Level 3
Arts, Media and Publishing

Available start dates

Available start dates

Tuesday, 01 September 2026
The Whitstable School
2 Year(s)
Full time
Daytime/working hours
NULL

Application Instructions

Applications open:- Monday 4th November at 9.00am

Applications close:- 25th August 2026

Entry Requirements: - They vary for each course.

How to Apply: - Please apply via KentChoices.

Course Summary

It may be easy to take a photograph, you may have taken several today already, but it is a highly valued skill to be able to harness photography to communicate messages, feelings, and ideas. The world is addicted to an almost constant flow of visual traffic. Companies need photographers to tell their story just as cultures need photographers to tell theirs. Now, more than ever there is a huge market for photography.

A Level Photography aims to embrace different styles and interests giving students freedom to explore photographs through a range of innovative techniques and processes. Students will take part in a series of exciting workshops before going on to develop highly personal investigations that draw together their visual and analytical understanding.

Course Details

At TWS we use websites as a means to record and submit all photographic projects. The websites allow for professional presentation of work that echoes the use of websites in the industry. We also work with our hands. Developing film photographs from scratch using chemicals and designing and making zines, photobooks and large scale photo-montages.

Trips to galleries in London and Margate are always combined with photo-walks to capture new environments with a variety of focuses. Homework is mainly practical and will demand that you explore your local area and bring images back to the studio to enrich your Coursework.

How will it be delivered and assessed?

Unit 1 -Non exam portfolio-The portfolio is marked across four assessment objectives (60%)

Unit 2 - Externally Set Assignment - An externally set project that will have an emphasis on the development of ideas. A choice of questions will be issued by the exam board as a starting point for a personal project. A supervised practical exam of 15 hours will take place at the end of the project (40%)

Unit 1-Non exam Portfolio 60% Internally and externally assessed. After selecting a personal theme to investigate, students present their artists research, photographic experiments, and developed outcomes in a website. Prints, collage and photo-artworks including sculpture can also be submitted alongside the website.

The digital portfolio is marked across four assessment objectives with a total mark of 96. Students also submit an essay (1000-3000 words) based on contextual studies related to their practical project

Entry requirements

It is recommended that students have achieved a 5-9 in Photography at GCSE or a similar creative course, preferably in Fine art. If students have not studied Photography at Key stage 4 they may be permitted to follow the course if they provide a portfolio to demonstrate suitable their ability and motivation to succeed in the course.

Your next steps...

Photography leads to a wide range of options for further study and career choices. As well as Freelance photography in all its forms from Sport to Food to Portrait studio; a knowledge of how images work and how to handle and manipulate them makes you perfect for Graphic Design, Art Direction, Film and Visual Communication courses. Pair your fine art photography skills with business to launch a creative career or become an apprentice to a photographer to begin your journey to independence.

For more courses like this, check our courses page.