Fine Art Level 3 Foundation Course

Course Aims

The Fine Art Level 3 Foundation course will develop learners’ understanding and awareness of the opportunities and demands of study in Fine Art and Design. It will provide a context in which learners can identify their strengths and ambitions through a sequential exploration of skills and concepts. Students will develop an informed awareness and understanding of the relationship between their strengths and ambitions, and achievable targets. All our tutors are practicing artists with diverse studio practices that cover the broad range of ideas in contemporary art.

Course Structure & Modules

You will receive a minimum of 18 hours taught tutor contact time alongside the one-to-one tutorial with your personal tutor and/or course leader. You will have weekly classes, between 10am-1pm & 2-5pm, in 2d-3d materials exploration on Tuesdays, followed by film club. Tutorials and supported studio work on Wednesdays, and life drawing/painting on Thursdays. We also have a visiting lecturer programme on alternate days that includes artists, alumni, and curators, sharing in their specialist knowledge.

There is also the opportunity to attend additional termly classes at a reduced price, where available, independantly from your scheduled course timetable.

Exploratory Stage

The Exploratory Stage will introduce students to making methodologies and lateral thinking alongside learning techniques in Drawing, Painting, Sculpture & Ceramics. Students will be challenged to work expediently and experimentally without any resolved outcome on a number of small project briefs alongside an overarching brief that will support their portfolio application into Higher Education.

Pathway Stage

The Pathway Stage allows students to explore and develop their interests in a chosen medium in response to the set brief. Students will be introduced to key Modernist and Contemporary art theory and will write an essay demonstrating their understanding of a influential text in this subject area.

Confirmatory Stage

For the final stage students will have the opportunity to consolidate their learning and interests by writing and responding to their own project brief. The final outcome will be externally assessed and students will have the opportunity to exhibit their final work in the end of year show.

Studio & Gallery Visits

Intimate studio visits to internationally acclaimed artists provide inspiration to our students. In the last 18 months we have visited the studios Frank Bowling OBE RA, Philip King PRA, Gerry Judah, David Breuer Weil, Zadoc Ben David, Artem Special Effects and Bouke de Vries.
Our gallery and museum visits underpin the student’s contextual studies and introduce them to a wide range of research resources. In the last twelve months students have visited major institutions including Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Royal Academy, V&A, British Museum, Imperial War Museum along with visits to various private galleries.

Field Trips

We like to introduce students to different learning environments, whether this be drawing on Hampstead Heath or visiting the Henry Moore Studio and Gardens. The costs for visits outside London are not included in the course fee.

External Collaborations

As part of their professional development we offer students the opportunity to participate in our external collaborations. Recently these have included a Waste Not project working with Gail's Bakeries across London and the Hampstead Village Giant Eggs Public Sculpture event.

Further Study

As a UCAS registered centre we support our students with their undergraduate and postgraduate applications. We have close relationships with London universities and each year we visit the Fine Art departments of different institutions during the Autumn Term. Our 2021/22 students received undergraduate offers from Central St Martins, Camberwell College of Arts, Chelsea School of Art, Goldsmiths University, University of Westminster & Middlesex University. Over the last three years, some students who already hold a degree have gone into postgraduate studies at Chelsea School of Art & Camberwell College of Arts.

Alumni

Saatchi Gallery’s LONDON GRADS NOW exhibition celebrates young artists and offers a platform for the most promising talent graduating in 2020 from the UK's prestigious art schools and universities. We're delighted that three HSoA alumni, who studied on our Foundation and specialist courses, were selected. Congratulations to Heini King, Emily Moore and Alistair MacKinnon on their achievement and their graduation from CSM, RCA, and Chelsea respectively.

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Tutors

All our tutors are practicing artists with diverse studio practices that cover the broad range of ideas in contemporary art. We also have a visiting lecturer programme that includes artists, alumni, and curators.

Tutor Contact Time

Each week students will receive a minimum of 18 hours of tutor contact time per week. With a small cohort, every student will receive the support they require to reach their creative potential.

Entry Requirements

Applications are open from December with interviews for the next academic year taking place in the following months. On occasion, late applications are accepted. Ideally, we would like to see a portfolio of work that relates to your application. This should be no more than 10 digital images. However, as a not-for-profit charity, our aims and objectives are to expand on the philosophy of Joseph Beuys and reach out to anyone who wishes to explore and discover art and design. As such applications are reviewed on an individual basis so if you are interested in taking the course please email the office at info@hsoa.co.uk to discuss your position.

Opportunities for all

We welcome applications from mature students who are looking to explore their artistic potential in a sustained learning environment. Each year our student cohort has a diverse group of ages, languages, and ethnicities. For students for whom English is not their first language, we can offer private tuition. This supplementary cost will give the student the support to sit the IELTS level 6.0 exam, which is currently a minimum requirement for undergraduate study at the majority of academic institutions in the UK.

Fees

The course fee is £8,000. A one-off, non-refundable registration fee of £100 is payable on acceptance to the course, and a £250 examination fee is due in May. Fees are to be paid in full in July before the Autumn Term.
As a small charity, our courses do not receive public funding. We are therefore currently unable to offer fee exemption for students under 19 or access to student loans.

Bursaries - Allocated in February

The Sir Frank Bowling Bursary

Thanks to the generosity of our patron we are able to offer the Frank Bowling OBE RA bursary. The bursary is for those that are unable to pay the tuition fee and is awarded on creative merit and a commitment to learning. After successful application to the course and following portfolio meeting with the Principal or her representative, the bursary is decided in accordance with the student's needs and ambitions. We are proud that Sir Frank is a Patron of HSoA. The Frank Bowling Bursary is allocated in January of each year.

Lady Rachel Scott Bowling Bursary

Thanks to the generosity of our patron Lady Rachel Scott Bowling we are able to offer this bursary. The bursary is awarded to those who are unable to pay the tuition fee and is awarded on creative merit and a commitment to learning. After successful application to the course and following portfolio meeting with the Principal or her representative, the bursary is decided in accordance with the student's needs and ambitions. We are proud that Lady Rachel is a Patron of HSoA.