Mission
To foster a community of young people who are not only skilled photographers, but reflective, resilient, and imaginative individuals, who are prepared to contribute thoughtfully to an ever-changing visual world.
Curriculum Intent
Our KS4 and KS5 Photography curriculum at Friesland School aims to develop scholars as independent, reflective, and skilled creative practitioners. We seek to equip learners with the knowledge, technical ability, and conceptual understanding needed to produce meaningful visual work. Through sustained engagement with photographic practice, scholars gain confidence in exploring ideas, experimenting with materials and processes, and presenting outcomes that communicate effectively to an audience.
By the end of their education, a student of Photography at Friesland School will:
- Foster creativity, curiosity, and visual literacy.
- Develop strong technical proficiency in photographic techniques, processes, and digital manipulation.
- Introduce scholars to a broad range of influential photographers and visual artists, supporting cultural, historical, and contextual understanding.
- Encourage personal enquiry, critical thinking, and the ability to justify artistic decisions.
Process
The Photography curriculum is designed around an iterative creative process of research → experimentation → development → refinement → final outcomes, mirroring professional photographic workflows.
Powerful Knowledge
The Photography curriculum is intelligently sequenced to ensure scholars retain powerful knowledge and are able to apply their skills confidently in practical and conceptual contexts. Scholars are guided through visual, technical and theoretical concepts that build on their personal experience, prior learning, and the strong foundations established in the previous year or Key Stage. Through structured enquiries into broad creative questions, they develop an understanding of how photographers communicate ideas and respond to the world around them.
Over time, scholars are introduced to a diverse range of photographic practices, movements and global perspectives—from historical and contemporary Western approaches to influential Eastern and non-Western visual traditions. The carefully planned progression of the curriculum enables scholars to engage increasingly with the complex nuances of these practices, deepening their ability to analyse, interpret and make informed creative decisions.
This sequencing ensures that, as they advance, scholars can critically reflect on their own work and the work of others, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of photography as both an artistic discipline and a form of visual communication.
Within each scheme of work, key knowledge is taught and re-visited on a regular basis through interleaved ‘Do Now’ quizzes and repetition of key skills. In addition, 100% sheets provide scholars with a succinct format for the most powerful knowledge in Photography and ensure scholars are exposed to the knowledge needed to succeed. Scholars are also provided with detailed booklets throughout their journey as Photographers which enables them to continually improve their practice and experiment with new techniques.
The Photography curriculum will support and scaffold all scholars to be successful:
All Photography lessons follow an explicit modelling process of I do, we do, you do, especially when demonstrating how to use camera equipment and how to process images using Photoshop. This gradual release of responsibility allows scholars to observe the metacognitive thinking behind creative and technical decision-making—for example, demonstrating how to construct a contact sheet, develop a sustained idea, analyse an artist’s work, or edit and refine an image in response to feedback.
Vocabulary is embedded throughout the curriculum to ensure scholars develop the critical and technical language needed to articulate processes, analyse imagery, and discuss conceptual intentions with confidence. Call-and-response strategies such as I say, you say are used when introducing new terminology and key photographic concepts, including those found in 100% sheets, technical sheets, and in artist research.
The Photography curriculum is often bookletised, providing scholars with high-quality written and visual resources in a physical format. This ensures they can revisit exemplars, technical guides, workflows, and analytical frameworks without relying on transient information from slides or screens, supporting long-term retention and independent practice. Most of the resources that are presented within the classroom are often shared on Microsoft Teams for scholars to reflect on in their own time.
The Photography curriculum contributes to the personal development of scholars at Friesland School:
The study of Photography is a core component of a rounded creative education and fully reflects the values of the school. The Photography curriculum provides a safe and supportive space for scholars to explore ideas, experiment visually, and respond thoughtfully to the diverse world around them. It encourages open discussion, creative risk-taking, and respectful critique, allowing scholars to engage confidently with challenging themes and differing perspectives. By revealing new ways of seeing the world around them, the Photography curriculum embellishes skills that strengthen relationships within the classroom and prepares scholars for further study or creative industries.
The curriculum fosters mutual understanding by guiding scholars to engage critically with a wide range of photographic traditions, contexts, and visual cultures. Drawing on the principles of ways of seeing, scholars learn that photographs are not neutral; they are shaped by the maker’s viewpoint, cultural assumptions, and the power dynamics behind the lens. Through studying diverse practitioners and image-making approaches (from documentary and fine art to contemporary digital and global perspectives), scholars come to recognise how meaning is constructed, challenged and reinterpreted. This understanding helps them appreciate the complexity and nuance within photographic work, as well as the multiple ways audiences may perceive and respond to images.
Photography is a subject for all scholars, whatever their background or previous artistic experience. Through studying a wide range of practitioners and visual influences, scholars develop an understanding of how different values, identities, and cultural contexts shape creative expression. This practical and analytical subject empowers scholars to consider how their own viewpoints, experiences, and creative choices connect to wider social, ethical and cultural conversations, enabling them to make informed decisions about how they represent subjects and communicate ideas.
The academic and practical study of Photography develops a wide range of specific and transferable skills. These include analysing primary and secondary visual sources, understanding visual symbolism and composition, employing technical terminology accurately, interpreting meaning and context, developing empathy in representation, critiquing work respectfully, recognising bias or stereotypes in imagery, and presenting viewpoints other than their own with clarity and integrity. These skills prepare students not only for success within the arts, but for thoughtful engagement with the increasingly visual world beyond school.
Opportunities are built in to make links to the world of work to enhance the careers, advice and guidance that students are exposed to:
In preparing for adult life, scholars need to learn how to navigate and respond thoughtfully to the increasingly visual, diverse, and global landscape that surrounds them. The Photography curriculum goes far beyond learning technical skills or replicating established styles: it is about understanding how images shape meaning, influence perception, and reflect the complex cultural, social and personal contexts from which they emerge. Scholars are encouraged to explore their own visual identity while gaining insight into the perspectives, experiences and creative voices of others.
All scholars develop core knowledge of key photographic practices, methods, and visual traditions. This leads to a knowledge that not only informs the history and evolution of the medium but also guides their own creative growth. Through studying a range of photographers and approaches, scholars learn how imagery can reveal, challenge or reshape collective understanding.
The modern world needs young people who are confident in their own creative voice and values, whilst also demonstrating empathy and sensitively to the diverse visual cultures and identities of others. Photography fosters this balance by helping scholars understand the power of representation, the responsibility of the image-maker, and the role they can play in contributing to a more reflective, inclusive and compassionate society.
Key Stage 4
KS4 follows the AQA GCSE Art and Design: Photography specification and is structured to develop technical confidence and creative independence.
Component 1: Portfolio (60%)
Projects explore themes such as identity, environment, abstraction, movement, and constructed imagery.
Scholars research key photographers and produce evidence of experimentation with digital and analogue techniques.
There is an emphasis on developing personal ideas and refined final outcomes.
Component 2: Externally Set Assignment (40%)
Scholars respond to an externally set theme in January of Year 11.
A preparatory period allows research, experimentation, and development.
A 10-hour supervised period is used to produce a final piece.
KS4 Key Outcomes
Mastery of camera controls and photographic composition.
Ability to develop sustained investigations.
Confident use of digital editing and mixed media where appropriate.
Understanding of contextual influences and meaningful annotation.
Production of a personal, coherent portfolio.
Curriculum Plans
Key Stage 5
AQA A-Level Photography builds on KS4 foundations, allowing scholars to develop greater depth, independence, and conceptual understanding.
Component 1: Personal Investigation (60%)
A substantial, in-depth practical project supported by a written personal study (1000–3000 words).
Scholars explore complex themes and tailor investigations to their own artistic goals.
There is an expectation that all scholars will embark upon sophisticated research, advanced technical skills, and develop a critically engaged creative practice.
Component 2: Externally Set Assignment (40%)
Scholars respond creatively to one of several themes issued by AQA in February of Year 13.
Preparatory work culminates in a 15-hour supervised period for final outcome production.
KS5 Key Outcomes
Advanced control of photographic techniques and creative processes.
Highly developed visual and conceptual communication.
Critical and contextual understanding demonstrated through sustained written and practical work.
Ability to produce a coherent, ambitious body of work with professional presentation.
Preparedness for progression to higher education or creative industry pathways.