Art and Design Scholarships at Independent Schools: Portfolios and Assessment

An art scholarship at an independent school is an award for a pupil who shows talent and potential in art, usually judged on a portfolio of work, a practical task and an interview about the pieces. Schools such as Brighton College, Tonbridge School and Dulwich College describe these awards in their own scholarship pages, and some also run a separate design and technology award with its own portfolio and design task. This page covers school entry at 11+, 13+ and 16+ in the UK, which is separate from university or US athletic scholarships.

Much of the preparation happens in sketchbooks and a carefully selected folder of work well before the assessment day. The portfolio, a report from the child's current art teacher and the day itself each carry weight, and a school will often expect an award holder to continue with art at GCSE or A-Level. Page limits, tasks and entry points differ between schools, so a parent can treat each school's own scholarship page as the final word on format.

What is an art or design scholarship at an independent school?

An art scholarship at an independent school is an award for a pupil with artistic ability and potential, held alongside an expectation of taking part in the art department's activities. Brighton College describes its scholarships as awarded to pupils who show talent and potential, with scholars receiving extra benefits, support and opportunities and acting as role models for their peers. Tonbridge School says its scholarships are awarded on the basis of ability, passion and potential.

The expectations attached to the award vary. St Helen and St Katharine lists mentoring by Sixth Form scholars, an Artist Student Club, an Open Call exhibition curated by scholars, and a meeting with the Head of Art at the start and end of each academic year. Brighton College's 11+ page mentions a weekly Scholars' Club, a scholars' exhibition and a school Christmas card design.

Design and technology awards run separately where a school offers them. Brighton College and Dulwich College each describe a design and technology scholarship with its own portfolio, design task and interview, and Tonbridge School offers a Design, Technology and Engineering scholarship alongside Art.

At which ages can a child apply for an art scholarship?

Art scholarships are offered at 11+, 13+ and 16+, although each school chooses which of these entry points it covers. The schools cited here show the range, and the child's target school will state its own position on its scholarship page.

Brighton College requires an offer of a place to have been accepted before a pupil can apply for a scholarship, and Tonbridge School accepts art applications only from boys in Year 8 who have already accepted their place. Both therefore sit after the academic offer stage at 13+. A parent applying at 11+ or 16+ should check the same sequence on the school's page.

• Brighton College: art scholarships at 11+ and 13+, with a design and technology scholarship at 13+ in the 13+ brochure.
• St Helen and St Katharine: art scholarships at 13+ and 16+, with a digital portfolio at both points.
• Tonbridge School: art and design, technology and engineering scholarships at Year 9 entry.
• Dulwich College: art and design and technology scholarships at Middle School entry only.

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What goes in an art scholarship portfolio?

A scholarship portfolio usually combines observational drawing, work in a range of media and sketchbook pages that show how an idea developed. St Helen and St Katharine asks for a digital portfolio at 13+ and 16+ containing three pieces showing a variety of ways of working that were not completed in school, selected sketchbook pages demonstrating the development of a piece, two observational drawings, and up to five further pieces in any medium. Candidates photograph the work and place it in a PowerPoint.

Brighton College asks at 13+ for a range of current work completed within the last two years in a range of media, with a digital portfolio of no more than ten slides or a physical portfolio of six to ten pieces, and a sketchbook counting as one piece. At 11+ it asks for no more than ten pieces in a variety of media, recent within the last year, from both school and home.

Dulwich College accepts drawings, paintings, photography, animation and film in a digital portfolio, split between work done under supervision at school and work done in the candidate's own time, together with a short paragraph on the child's work, artistic interests and exhibitions visited.

What happens at the practical assessment and interview?

The assessment usually pairs a timed practical task with an interview in which the candidate discusses the portfolio. At St Helen and St Katharine the 13+ skills assessment is a sixty-minute timed observational drawing from a still life in any media, and the 16+ version lasts ninety minutes. Candidates are then interviewed in a small group about their use of processes and materials, artists they know, their portfolio, exhibitions and galleries visited, and the work produced that day.

St Helen and St Katharine also sets an unseen creative challenge at 13+, run as a taught session to show how candidates think through the creative process. Tonbridge School sends a theme in advance, and candidates bring the resulting preparatory piece with supporting or developmental work to the assessment day, where it forms the basis of the interview.

Dulwich College invites shortlisted candidates to an objective or imaginative drawing or painting test in a specified time. Brighton College sets a practical task and an interview with the Director of Art at 13+, and tells candidates they will only need to talk about five pieces, which they are advised to select in advance with their art teacher. Brighton's design and technology assessment gives candidates a design problem to solve, followed by an interview about the digital portfolio with the Head of Design and Technology.

How does an art scholarship interact with the academic exam and bursaries?

An art scholarship usually runs alongside the academic entry process, so the child must still meet the school's academic requirements. Dulwich College states that applicants must meet the College's academic requirements at all points of entry, and Tonbridge School accepts art applications only from boys in Year 8 who have accepted their place. Brighton College likewise asks for an accepted offer before an application.

On finances, Dulwich College says its scholarships are not means-tested and may be supplemented by a bursary where there is genuine financial need, and Tonbridge School says its Sixth Form scholarships can be held alongside means-tested financial support.

Schools differ on holding several awards. Brighton College says candidates can be considered for up to three scholarship awards, Tonbridge School lets candidates apply for more than one scholarship, and Dulwich College does not allow an application for both Art and Design and Technology. The school's admissions office can confirm the value of any award and how a bursary application is made.

How can a child build a portfolio in the year before?

A child can build a portfolio over the preceding year by keeping sketchbooks going, drawing from life regularly and gathering work in several media that the school's page asks for. Brighton College limits 13+ work to the last two years and 11+ work to the last year, so recent pieces matter more than older ones. St Helen and St Katharine and Dulwich College both value work done outside lessons, which makes a home sketchbook worth starting early.

Keeping a record of how a piece developed gives the child material for the sketchbook pages that schools request, and the interviews at St Helen and St Katharine ask about artists, galleries and exhibitions visited, so visits made during the year give the child something concrete to talk about. The child's art teacher can help choose and label the final selection, and Brighton College asks that work carries the candidate's name and current school.

Schools also draw on the current school's view. Tonbridge School asks for a supporting statement signed by the Headteacher and the Head of Art, and Brighton College asks for a full and objective report from the art teacher, so a conversation with the child's school before applying is worthwhile.

• Draw from observation regularly, using a still life, a figure, plants or objects at home.
• Try several media, such as pencil, paint, collage, printmaking, photography or 3D work.
• Keep development pages that show ideas changing from first sketch to finished piece.
• Visit galleries and museums and note down what interested the child.

An art award is decided alongside the academic entrance exam, so for one-to-one help with the written papers and the interview, read about our scholarship exam preparation, or tell us about your child and the schools on your list and we will reply with tutor recommendations.

What should a parent ask the art department?

A parent can ask the art department for the exact portfolio format, the assessment structure and what the school expects from a scholar once the award is held. Format questions matter because schools differ on slides against physical pieces, the number of pieces and whether a sketchbook counts as one.

Asking about expectations helps the family judge fit, since St Helen and St Katharine expects scholars to choose art at GCSE or A-Level and Dulwich College's design and technology award depends on taking the subject at GCSE and A-Level.

• Is the portfolio submitted digitally, brought in person, or both, and what are the page or piece limits?
• How many pieces will the child be asked to discuss, and does the interview include the work from the practical task?
• Is there a timed task, a theme sent in advance or an unseen challenge, and which media are allowed?
• What is expected of scholars each year, and must art be taken at GCSE or A-Level?
• How does the award combine with a bursary or another scholarship at this school?
• What does the school want in the report from the current art teacher?

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