Peakhurst Campus

Georges River College

Telephone02 9153 9966

Emailpeakhurst-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Creative arts and performing arts

Creative arts and performing arts faculty

In creative arts, students discover a variety of art forms through a study of dance, drama, music and visual arts.

Studying the creative arts, students learn to appreciate, compose, listen, make and perform. Each art form has its own unique knowledge and skills, elements or concepts as well as a capacity to inspire and enrich lives.

Students must study 100 hours of both music and visual arts during Years 7 to 10. They also have an opportunity to further develop their knowledge and skills in other art forms through elective subjects including drama, dance, photography and visual design. Students can then select from a range of courses in Years 11 to 12.

The CAPA (Creative and performing arts) faculty comprises a passionate, dedicated and vibrant staff who provide students with so many opportunities to shine and excel.

Curriculum

The CAPA curriculum comprises of:

  • Music (Years 7 to 10)
  • Performing Arts (Years 7 to 10)
  • Photography and Digital Media (Years 9 and 10)
  • Visual Art (Years 9 and 10)
  • Visual Design (Year 9 and 10).

Music

Students are required to complete 100 hours of music (mandatory course) as part of the requirements for attainment of a school certificate. At GRC Peakhurst the mandatory course is undertaken in Year 7.

The study of the mandatory course will provide the foundation for the further study of music as an elective course in Years 8, 9 and 10.

Students who study music develop skills in performance, listening and composition.

As well as classroom activities, there are a range of extra-curricular musical activities available. 

These include:

  • College concert band
  • College stage band
  • Vocal ensembles
  • Instrumental tutorials including band instruments, guitar and percussion.

Photography and digital media

The aim of the PDM course is to:

  • teach students to see and interpret the world in new ways. Photography empowers students to actively engage in one of the primary forms of communication in today's society.
  • allow students to become aware of visual communication and design and develop this knowledge in a variety of ways including training for vocation, media and leisure.

Whether students hope to choose a career in photography or digital media or just wish to gain enjoyment from persuing personal interest, students will find this a very enjoyable, interesting and rewarding course.

Students who study the PDM course learn about:

  • how to use different cameras and lenses
  • types of film, their uses and how to develop them
  • how to develop and enlarge your own photos
  • setting up a darkroom
  • chemical mixing and usage
  • photography throughout history
  • studio shots and lighting
  • alternative processing techniques
  • computer manipulation and digital imagery
  • professional uses and applications for photography

Visual art

The visual art course aims to:

  • teach students to see and interpret the world in new ways.
  • empower students to actively engage in one of the primary forms of communication in today's society.

Art is a unique means of personal growth and development. It does not just exist inside a gallery, it involves technology and hands-on skills helping creativity, imagination, communication, visual literacy and problem solving skills, all of which are essential for the workplaceand understanding of the ways in which artists develop their practice and function within a social / cultural framework. This involves the relationships between artist, artwork, audiences and the world.  

The visual art course comprises making artworks (60%) and studying (40%). Students should choose Visual Art if they are talented in art, or just enjoy it and are keen to learn more.

The making component will develop the students own art-making practice through a range of 2, 3 & 4D forms to enable them to explore different styles of art-making in yr 7 and 8. Year 9 and 10 visual art involves building a body of work over the 2 years. Students will record and document their ideas and experiments in their visual arts diary. 

In studying about artworks, students will develop knowledge, understanding and skills to critically and historically interpret art. This will be informed by their inquiry of the 4 Frames – Subjective, Structural, Cultural and Post-modern and their own developing practice.

Students who study the Visual Art elective create artworks involving:

  • painting
  • drawing
  • printmaking 
  • photography
  • ceramics
  • design
  • computer graphics
  • sculpture.

Visual design

The visual design course aims to:

  • enable students to investigate & engage in the design practice used in the contemporary world by artists and visual designers.
  • enhance & increase students' knowledge & skills of the print (2D), object (3D) & space -time (4D) designs that surround them. These are areas that are extremely relevant and of fundamental interest to students.

Whether students hope to choose a career in visual design or just gain satisfaction from personal interest, students will find this a very enjoyable, interesting and rewarding course.

Students who study the visual design elective learn about:

  • the creation of virtual worlds and animation
  • exterior, interior spaces and architectural designs
  • jewellery designs and wearables
  • ceramic ware
  • textile design
  • typographic forms, texts, lettering and images in print
  • the visual image in advertising
  • illustration and cartooning
  • object, furniture and packaging design
  • digital imagery and graphic design
  • past and present cultural design practice and how it has evolved into the 21st century.