In creative arts, students discover a variety of art forms through a study of dance, drama, music and visual arts.
Studying the creative arts, students 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 including drama, dance, photography and visual design. Students can then select from a range of courses in Years 11 to 12.
Music
There is a long and proud tradition of musical excellence at Willoughby Girls High School. In the classroom, students can study Music all the way from Year 7 to 12. All students in Years 7 and 8 have Music as part of the curriculum, and from Year 9 onwards they may choose to study it as one of their elective subjects. In Year 12 we offer all three HSC courses – Music 1, Music 2 and Music Extension.
At Willoughby Girls High School, our nine extra-curricular ensembles represent over 150 students, creating great music throughout the year, both in the school and in the community, and lasting friendships for years to come. For more information about our Music ensembles and opportunities please click here.
Drama
Drama electives are offered in Years 9 to 12. Excursions to live productions and opportunities to participate in drama camps and theatresports competitions are made available. Interested Years 7 and 8 students, who are willing to devote time and energy to rehearsal, will be eligible for membership of the junior drama ensemble, formed in Term 1 each year. It is envisaged the ensemble will compete in Eisteddfod’s and perform in dance and drama nights. In the process of devising and rehearsing pieces for performance, students will be developing their performance skills. This will benefit those keen to study drama in later years and/or audition for the school’s major performing arts production, which is held every two years. Notifications of auditions will be in daily message sheet and newsletters.
Photographic and digital media
The visual arts faculty offers students the opportunity to study photographic and digital media in Years 9 and 10.
In photographic and digital media, students focus on traditional photographic techniques during Year 9 and then develop art making practices using digital components in Year 10. Students attend excursions to different exhibitions each year that relate to photographic and digital media to help them develop their photographic and digital practice.
Visual arts
Students can study visual arts from Years 7 to 12 at Willoughby Girls High School. All students in Years 7 and 8 must study visual arts as part of the curriculum and from Years 9 to 12 they may choose the course as one of their electives. The visual arts faculty provide students with many opportunities to extend their art experiences through activities such as; the Festival of Creative Art exhibition, entering student competitions and exhibitions, attending excursions to art galleries and exhibitions space, participating in art workshops and making art during lunch breaks.
Students studying the Visual Arts courses attend excursions to; the Arts Gallery of NSW to view the Archibald, Wynn and Sulman Prizes and the permanent collection, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sculpture by the Sea and the National Trust’s S H Irving Gallery.
HSC Bodies of Work
In 2022, 27 students submitted works to be marked for the HSC. These artworks included painting, drawing, photo media, digital drawings, ceramics and sculptures. We are very proud of our Year 12's for their perseverance and for creating some fabulous bodies of work. We have some very talented students.
