For pupils who love drawing and designing as well as creating beautiful objects, Textiles offers a journey of discovery into the joys of imagining and making.
Pupils studying Textiles have the opportunity to explore the many creative applications of textile design in the real world, from the realms of fashion and wearable accessories to interior fabrics and furnishings, and artistic textiles.
The subject draws together traditional textile techniques alongside print making and photography. Pupils work with many different natural and manufactured materials and fabrics to bring their ideas to life. They experiment with a wide variety of processes and techniques to develop their projects, from weaving, knitting, embroidery and felting to CAD printing and computerised machine sewing.
Pupils learn to draw using various materials, as well as learning how to use relevant CAD software, such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. They combine first-hand research, including photography, with inspiration from practising textile artists and designers to develop their own unique creations.
The Leonardo Centre offers an incredible array of machinery and equipment for textile making, including Bernina sewing machines and overlockers, embellishers, cover lockers and CAD/CAM embroidery machines. There is also a fully equipped photography studio and print room.
We run trips to various galleries and exhibitions through the year, providing pupils with the inspiration and ideas to help develop their work.
All first year (Fourth Form) pupils can choose Textiles as one of their modules, while our extra-curricular Textiles club gives them a chance to make and screen print their own hoodies. We offer Textile Design at both GCSE and A Level (Art and Design – Textile Design), while some pupils choose to take an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) in Textiles, which involves producing an artefact alongside an extended essay.