Advanced Higher Art Exhibition Postponed

The exhibition of the Advanced Higher Art portfolios over the Spring Fair weekend has had to be postponed due to unimagined potential risks to the work, coupled with working to the tightest deadline for submission in memory.

Portfolios are normally collected from the School by SQA in the last week of May, with the exhibition installed a couple of days before this deadline to allow final year pupils to work up until the last hour polishing off their pieces. However, this year the date set recently is a whole week earlier (23rd May), with ESS half term falling on 17th – 22nd May.

The five Advanced Higher Art pupils were due to open the doors to their exhibited work at the upcoming Founder’s Day Spring Fair on 11th May, for alumni and the school community. However, the pressures of losing over a week of examination prep, coupled with the unforeseen and unavoidable mixed-use of the School Hall, introducing the potential risk of sticky-fingered children running freely in and out, has led to a decision to postpone the exhibition to protect the exam folios.

The Advanced Higher Art course is the culmination of an entire curriculum that has woven aesthetic appreciation and creative expression into its pedagogy. Advanced Higher Art & Design results are outstanding, with all candidates achieving an ‘A’ grade for three consecutive years, with fifteen pupils achieving 100%. Reflecting on exhibiting at the bustling Spring Fair event, Ms Reid adds:

I cannot emphasise enough how this work is the pupils’ future. The Advanced Higher is the equivalent of two Highers and they all need it for their next stage. Four of these pupils are going to Art School.

The welfare of these pupils and their exam work that is so precious has to be put ahead of the risks of exhibiting on such a busy day as the Spring Fair, which this year is marking our 85th anniversary too, widening the invitation list.

 

Class 12 art exam pupils will now open the doors to their hung work on Wednesday 15th May between 5pm – 7pm in the School hall with refreshments. The pupils’ family, along with the wider school community and public, are welcome to attend.

The exhibition will open again the next day (Thursday 16th May) between 9am – 4pm to the school community only. All visitors who are not enrolled pupils and staff, please report to the School Office to get a Visitor’s Pass before heading to the exhibition.Alumni, visiting the school campus on Saturday 11th May as part of the Founder’s day celebrations will be treated to an exhibition of former Advanced Higher Art pupils’ work in the Eurythmy Room, showcasing the exceptional standards of work produced at the level of 100% marks.

The portfolios of two previous ESS candidates – Yuri Kelly and Roseanna Holbrook, were selected to be included in an SQA online exhibition in 2023 (see Flair Exhibition). Some of the original pieces from this exhibition will be on display to see in person.

ESSTalks.org: ESS Art Exhibitions (2021 – 2023)