College’s Art Foundation students set national benchmark as top university places beckon

An outstanding year for the College’s Art, Design and Media Foundation Diploma has culminated in students earning places at the most prestigious universities in the world in the creative field.

The Foundation Diploma (FAD) is a one year course especially for students aged 18 and over who have completed A Levels and are aiming to study Art & Design-related courses at university or take the skills into employment. Many universities see the Diploma as an essential entry qualification, and students who have completed their foundation year at the College have gone onto great success at university and in employment.

This year has been particularly impressive, and course leader, Alan Redfern, said: “This year, our students have developed specialisms and achieved progression on to the broadest range of Higher Education (HE) courses ever, including 3D Design, Fine Art and Literature, Fashion Image Making and Styling , and Textiles. More students than ever have also achieved Level 4 accreditation, equivalent to undergraduate degree-level practice, and we have been told by our examiner that our Distinction Level 4 students are setting national benchmarks, so all in all, we are very proud of them and their achievements.”

The students’ final projects are typical of the diversity of practice seen across the course, with Courtney Rogers producing exceptional large scale paintings and drawings that explore the physical and psychological effects that can impact on the human body.

Courtney Rogers' work

Liam Bull has built a complex model of a futuristic world that forms the basis of a series of zines that would be a helpful guide for any space traveller, and Ree Hopkinson McNay has used her extensive knowledge of the human body to develop a dramatic garment, supported by innovative installation work that is part fashion, part theatre.

Liam Bull's model

Ree Hopkinson McNay's garment

Kay Cragg’s complex metal and glass work explores the functional and non-functional potential of her materials, inspired by studies of museum artefacts, while Dylan McDonnell’s inspiration has been English folklore, resulting in a strange and wonderful collection of costumes and imagery that bring to mind the folk horror cinema classics of the 1970s.

Kay Cragg's metal and glass work

Dylan McDonnell's eerie costume work

Dylan is progressing on to UAL Central Saint Martins - known simply as CSM - to study Fashion: Womenswear. The course is ranked number one in the world by the Business of Fashion Global Fashion School Rankings, and Dylan successfully competed against hundreds of international applicants to earn his place.

Dylan said: “It’s amazing, it still hasn’t quite sunk in. I’ve barely had time to think about it properly because I’ve been so busy with the final project, but I am excited.”

Dylan continued: “The interview itself was okay but the build up to it was the most nerve-racking part. The best advice I received before the interview was from Angela (FAD tutor and Textiles/Fashion specialist), who told me to relax a bit and be myself, and it seems to have worked!

Dylan completed his A Levels at the College last summer and stayed on for a third year to complete the FAD course. On his time at College, he said: “I think the genuine enthusiasm and encouragement that Tutors have shown for my work, particularly in the Foundation year, has been so important in helping me get at place at CSM. Angela in particular has gone out of her way to accommodate me with all my ideas: from staying late in the department almost every night helping me to perfect my portfolio, to being photographed wearing a wedding dress with a basket on her head in the name of fashion! After two years of A Levels, I applied directly to university, almost joining a course that my heart wasn’t completely in. I remember at the time though, Donalda, (FAD tutor and Fine Art specialist), explicitly said that she thought that after completing FAD I could get into CSM, which stuck with me and made me rethink my options. This faith in me and my work, and the support I’ve received is what I’m most grateful for.”

You can see all of the Foundation Diploma work as part of the end of year Art & Design Show on July 4^th and this event will also showcase the A Level and Cambridge Technical students’ work across Graphic Communication, Textiles/Fashion Design and Fine Art.

Read the course guide to the Art, Design and Media Foundation Diploma by clicking here.