Skip to main content
Courses

Creative & Performing Arts Courses at Rochester College

A refreshingly distinctive UK day and boarding school for artists, actors, musicians and filmmakers

Imagine a school where the arts are at the centre of the curriculum and creativity is found in every corner of the campus.

A school with an extensive creative arts and design subject list, where digital and visual arts are treated as viable options at both GCSE and A Level.

A school with a creative buzz where you’ll be taught by practicing graphic designers, artists, filmmakers, illustrators, and musicians, and where you’ll be studying alongside those who share your enthusiasms and interests. 

A school which doesn’t force its students into a house style but helps your own practice develop individually, guiding you towards an impressive portfolio as well as top A level results. 

What sets Rochester College apart for creative and digital arts subjects?

  • A school where you can premiere your short films in the campus cinema. 
  • A school where you can excel in the classroom as well as on the stage or in the studio, combining rigorous academic study with developing your creative voice. 
  • A school where you can access instrumental tuition and have space to create, practice and rehearse.
  • A school with outstanding facilities for honing your craft where students have free use of a fully equipped dark room, a potters’ wheel and ceramics studio, two textiles studios with computer aided embroidery machines, dedicated art studios, five mac labs with music sampling and digital editing software and media suites equipped with industry standard software. 
  • A school that feels like you are already at art college, film or drama school while preparing you successfully for entry to the best ones. 
  • A school where UAL has been our top university destination over the last five years. 
  • A school where digital media is taken as seriously as fine art and you can work on animation, installation and projection, mobile phone games and visual poetry.
  • A school that stages annual full scale musicals and plays in professional local theatres. 
  • A school with inspiring gallery spaces to showcase student work and where you can curate your own exhibitions and have your work published in annual catalogues. 

Welcome to Creative Arts at RIC. 

Our Creative Arts Subject List: GCSE and A Level

  • GCSE
  • A Level

Fine Art

  • GCSE
  • A Level

Music & Music Technology

  • GCSE
  • A Level

Fashion and Textiles

  • GCSE
  • BTEC

Drama & Theatre Studies

  • A Level

History of Art

  • GCSE
  • A Level

Photography

  • GCSE
  • A Level

Graphic Design

  • A Level

Digital Media and Design

  • A Level

Media Studies

  • GCSE
  • A Level

Ceramics

  • GCSE
  • A Level

Film Studies

Visual arts

Our expertise in fine and visual arts

Rochester Independent College was awarded the  Independent Schools Award for Excellence and Innovation in Fine Arts. They said: "The judges were impressed with the huge range of ways in which Rochester Independent College values, promotes and gives profile to the arts and considered the College an inspiration to the whole sector. The link between an aesthetic appreciation of the visual arts and personal development runs through all aspects of school life and is highly valued by the whole school community.”

Click here for our 35 years of visual arts exhibition catalogue. 

Rochester offers its own vibrant art scene and is conveniently located close to two other cultural centres: London and the emerging hubs of the Kent Coast in Margate, Whitstable and Folkestone. 

Digital media showcase

Preparing for University or Art College: What happens after my creative arts A level course?

Popular post A level destinations for RIC students include UAL's Central Saint Martins, Chelsea, London College of Fashion and the London College of Fashion. 

Film students opt either for academic courses at top universities such as KCL, Warwick and Sussex or more practical training routes at universities such as Bournemouth and Ravensbourne. 

Successful recent UAL placements include Jacob Wilder who will study Fine Art at Camberwell College of Arts and aspiring designer Noah George who will study Fashion Menswear at CSM.