On 16 November Year 10 Art, Craft and Design students and Art Graphics students visited the National Gallery and Tate Modern in London.

Students enjoyed the walk across Trafalgar Square under the imposing façade of the National Gallery and were intrigued by the current occupant of the fourth plinth, a giant thumbs up by the artist David Shrigley.

Inside the National Gallery students were taken to see a number of still life paintings and discussed the works with gallery staff, particularly the symbolic use of objects. Year 10 Art, Craft and Design students are responding to the theme of ‘still life’ in their own work.

At Tate Modern students were intrigued by the range of art, installation and sculpture that they saw. They all took part in the installation in the turbine hall entitled ‘one, two, three swing!’ by the Danish art collective Superflex.  The highlight of the day was having a go on the giant swings that formed part of the installation.

Students realised that an actual work of art has much more impact when it is seen in reality.

‘It was good to see the paintings that we are studying in class. You can see the real colours and the texture of the paint’.  Lauren Metson.