I have just finished the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Art and Design. I chose to study Art and Design at college so I could further develop my artistic skills and attempt mediums and methods that I would have not otherwise been able to try such as printmaking and throwing pots. Before applying for the Level 3 course, I completed Level 2. I had seen all the opportunities for me to progress my skills and decided at the time it was a path I wanted to pursue for the next couple of years.

A typical college day was quite fast paced and there was always something set for us to do. We had ongoing projects for each tutor so a lot of the course particularly, the second year of Level 3, was quite self-lead. I found this great because it meant I could make my project my own since the projects were open and each student despite being given the same criteria would produce unique and interesting outcomes. There wasn’t really a typical day in the way of college times because the weekly timetable was quite varied and I thought this was good because it felt much more freeing and it allowed me to do any extra college work at home or in study time without it eating too much into my spare time which meant in my spare time I could still go to my part time job AND pursue my hobbies. 

I personally enjoyed the fact that before the final projects for both years we would have different tutors that would teach diverse types of art. We studied fine art, ceramics/3D, photography, and some textiles. This gave me a chance to expand my knowledge and experiment so I could further evaluate and decide which section of art I would be most likely to pursue as a specialist subject. I also enjoyed the fact that my tutors would give constructive criticism and pushed me to work a bit away from my comfort zone. I managed to achieve far more than what I thought I was capable of, and I even managed to surprise myself with the quality of the work I was beginning to be able to produce. Each time I was pushed, my work improved, and these improvements made me feel much more confident in myself as an artist and I finally started being proud of my artwork.   

I chose the College of West Anglia as opposed to Six form because it is my local college and I had been homeschooled from the age of 11 so although I had been doing lessons at home, had a timetable to follow and my own set area to work, I hadn’t actually been in a proper classroom setting with multiple students or had a professional tutor for roughly 5 years. I had heard about how flexible the timetables were and about how the college has quite calm lesson structures and concluded that because of how long I had been away from state school the college would be a great place to ease myself back into this kind of educational facility.

The College of West Anglia’s Creative Department is very good and would recommend it to other people that are looking to gain more experience in Art and Design whether it is for personal enjoyment or for a qualification for a future career path.