In creative arts, students discover a variety of art forms through a study of dance, drama, music and visual arts where they 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. Students can then select from a range of courses in Years 11 to 12.
Creative Arts at Heathcote High
The creative arts program at Heathcote High School is taught via various specialist faculties. Music and Visual Arts is studied in our Creative & Performing Arts (CAPA) faculty while Drama is studied in English and Dance is studied in PDHPE.
Visual Arts Stage 4 and 5
Students learn to make artworks using a range of materials and techniques in 2D, 3D and 4D forms, including traditional and more contemporary forms, site-specific works, installations, video and digital media and other ICT forms, to build a body of work overtime.
Visual Arts Stage 6
This course provides students with the opportunity to develop their own artworks, culminating in a 'Body of Work' in the HSC course. Students engage in critical and historical study of the artworld to investigate artists, artworks, worlds and audiences from a range of cultural, political, historical and social perspectives and use these to inform their own artmaking practices.
Music Years Stage 4 and 5
In both the Mandatory (Stage 4) and Elective (Stage 5) courses, students study the concepts of music (duration, pitch, dynamics and expressive techniques, tone, colour, texture and structure) through the learning experiences of performing, composing and listening, within the context of a range of styles, periods and genres.
Music Years Stage 6
In the Preliminary course, students will study the concepts of music through the learning experiences of performance, composition, musicology and aural within the context of a range of styles, periods and genres.
In the HSC course, students study three topics in the HSC course which are different from those studied in the Preliminary course or two topics which are different from those studied in the Preliminary course and one topic from the Preliminary course in greater depth exploring new repertoire and including a comparative study. Topics are chosen from a list of 21 topics which covers a broad range of styles, periods and genres.
In addition to core studies in performance, composition, musicology and aural, students select three electives from any combination of performance, composition and musicology. These electives must represent each of the three topics studied in the course.
Photography and Digital Media Stage 5
Photographic and Digital Media provides opportunities for students to enjoy making and studying a range of photographic and digital media works. It enables students to represent their ideas and interests about the world, to engage in contemporary forms of communication and understand and write about their contemporary world. Photographic and Digital Media enables students to investigate new technologies, cultural identity and the evolution of photography and digital media into the 21st century. Students are provided with opportunities to make and study photographic and digital media works in greater depth and breadth than through the Visual Arts elective course.