Oil painting of a boy in a blue shirt lying asleep, one hand resting on his chest
Electra, Year 12

Creativity is an important part of life at Morna, developing from a child's earliest experiences in EYFS through Primary and Secondary and into our GCSE and A Level courses.

Across the school, students are encouraged to explore ideas, experiment with materials and techniques and develop the skills and confidence to express themselves creatively. From painting, drawing and sculpture to photography, media and Design & Technology, students have opportunities to work across a broad range of creative disciplines.

Creativity in EYFS

In EYFS, creativity begins through exploration. Children experiment with colour, texture, shape and different materials, using art and making as ways to express their ideas, develop their imagination and build confidence.

Creative activities give children the freedom to investigate, make choices and enjoy the process of creating, providing the foundations for the skills they will develop as they progress through the school.

  • A Reception pupil colouring autumn leaf patterns with pencils
  • A pupil decorating leaf shapes with pink pencil patterns
  • Children working on autumn leaf mark-making sheets at a shared table
  • A pupil choosing from a pot of coloured pencils for leaf drawings
  • Painted backgrounds printed with black silhouettes of animals and vehicles, each with a child's name
  • Close-up of an EYFS silhouette print of a horse and a tractor
  • Two children pressing shapes into dough with rolling pins
  • A child in a cowboy hat colouring a detailed picture
  • A child in fancy dress colouring at an outdoor table

Art & Design in Primary

In Primary, students develop a broader and more structured understanding of art and design. They build skills in drawing, painting, sculpture and other techniques while learning about the work of artists, craft makers and designers from different periods and cultures.

As they progress, students use sketchbooks to record observations, experiment with ideas and revisit and refine their work. They develop greater control and confidence in their use of different materials and are encouraged to discuss and evaluate both their own work and the work of others.

Chiara Kidd, Primary Art & DT Coordinator, oversees the development of Art and Design & Technology across Primary.

Chiara Kidd, Primary Art & DT Coordinator, standing against a white wall
Chiara Kidd, Primary Art & DT Coordinator
  • Primary pupils painting autumn leaves onto a giant paper tree on the classroom floor
  • Painting of sunflowers in a vase, in the style of Van Gogh
  • Geometric shapes drawn in coloured pastel
  • Watercolour of sunflowers and daisies in a purple vase
  • Leaf study: real pressed leaves beside detailed pencil drawings of leaves
  • Pencil drawing of a small bird
  • Pencil drawing of a dog's head
  • Egyptian-style artwork on brown paper with an eye and lotus flowers
  • A wrapped sweet made from blue tissue paper and crayon
  • Crayon drawing of a tree with flowers in the grass
  • Self-portrait framed by handwritten words
  • Red block print of a fish

Design & Technology in Primary

Design & Technology gives Primary students opportunities to combine creativity with practical problem solving.

Students learn to design for a purpose, select appropriate materials and tools, make and test their ideas and evaluate how their products could be improved. As they progress through Primary, projects introduce areas including structures, mechanisms, textiles, food and nutrition, electrical systems and digital technologies.

  • A Primary pupil cutting a wooden dowel with a junior hacksaw, guided by a teacher
  • A pupil sawing a dowel held in a wooden bench hook
  • A girl in a gingham dress sawing a dowel with help from a teacher
  • Close-up of a pupil using a hacksaw on a bench hook, with plastic wheels on the table
  • Pupils building cardboard vehicles with wooden axles and coloured wheels
  • A young pupil carefully sawing a dowel while a teacher steadies the bench hook

Art & Design in Secondary

As students move into Secondary, their creative work becomes increasingly ambitious and individual. They develop their technical skills while exploring artists, designers, ideas, materials and processes.

Students are encouraged to research, experiment and take creative risks, developing initial ideas through investigation and refinement into increasingly accomplished final pieces.

The department is led by Thomas Galli, Head of Art & Design, supported by specialist teachers across Art, Photography, Media Studies and Design & Technology.

  • Painting of a golden Buddha face with a small figure on its cheekPaula, Year 13
  • Painting of a man tending a fire in a burnt forestTheo, Year 13
  • Expressive figure study in bright orange, yellow and blueGilana, Year 13
  • Abstract ink painting with dripping blue and black marksGilana, Year 13
  • Painting of two figures in a field of long grass beneath a gold-leaf skyElectra, Year 12
  • Bronze-finished sculpture of a reclining figureFaye, Year 12
  • Digital collage of a girl in a white T-shirt against a red patterned backgroundFeline, Year 12
  • Pencil sketches of two facesRocky, Year 12
  • Black and white drawing of a girl wearing glassesHavana, Year 9
  • A student drawing a portrait from a reference on a tablet
  • Sketchbook page with ink drawings of an octopus and a jellyfishYear 9
  • Blue linocut print of shells and coralYear 9
  • Yellow linocut print of a seahorse and fishYear 9
  • Purple and blue print of sea creaturesYear 9
  • Three skateboard decks decorated with sticker-style designsYear 8
  • Three pink skateboard decks covered in hand-drawn stickersYear 8
  • Student murals displayed on the walls of Dalt VilaYear 8
  • A large mural portrait of a woman on the old town wallsYear 8
  • A student mural on the walls of Dalt Vila overlooking Ibiza townYear 8
  • Collage of a hand drawing over coloured paper and book pagesYear 7
  • Collage print in blue and pink on a dark backgroundYear 7
  • Collage of tissue paper, a book page and a line drawingYear 7
  • A student shading a detailed drawing of an eye in a sketchbook
The four members of the Secondary Creative Arts & Design team standing together
Our Secondary Creative Arts & Design Team

Photography

Photography gives students another way to explore and interpret the world around them, combining technical understanding with creativity and individual expression.

Alongside digital photography and image making, students have access to a dedicated photographic darkroom, allowing them to experience traditional photographic processes alongside contemporary digital techniques.

Students working under the red safelight in the school darkroom
  • Black and white portrait of a girl sitting in the surfEvi, Year 13
  • Two girls in silver outfits posed among chrome propsMira, Year 13
  • A horse in a dark stable lit with a projected blue skeletonLois, Year 13
  • Black and white fashion shoot on a Paris balustradeEugenie, Year 13
  • Two girls lying together with pink flowers in their hairSienna, Year 13
  • Three girls in bright dresses under a pink pavilionIsabella, Year 13
  • A dancer surrounded by swirling smoke under blue lightMira, Year 13
  • Black and white portrait of a man playing a djembe drumLois, Year 13
  • A girl leaning on the windscreen of a vintage PorscheSienna, Year 13
  • A wave breaking on a sandy beachVioleta, Year 13
  • Inverted black and white photograph of a park benchTianlin, Year 10
  • A Year 9 pinhole camera negative of a group of studentsYear 9, pinhole photography
  • A student photographing a classmate in the studio
  • A student editing a photograph on a laptop

Media Studies

Media Studies combines creativity with critical thinking. Students explore how media is created, constructed and communicated while developing their understanding of contemporary media and producing creative work of their own.

Students have opportunities to develop practical production skills and create their own media products, putting the concepts and techniques they study into practice across different formats.

Lauren Cornwall, Media Studies Coordinator, leads the subject within Secondary.

  • Student magazine cover for Beyond Borders, comparing New York City and Costa RicaCarlie AS Front Cover
  • Magazine spread on the history of Ibiza, laid out as a timelineCarlie A2 Magazine Article
  • Magazine spread with a four-day travel itinerary for New York CityCarlie AS Magazine Article
  • Home page of Feline's Media Blog, with a black-and-white film still as its bannerFeline's Media Blog
  • Media blog planning page with a romance genre mind map and a camera angles studyMedia blog: planning
  • Idea-generation mind map for a horror film, above a camera shots practice videoMedia blog: idea generation
  • Milas Media blog page showing the student's final film in a video playerMilas Media: final film
  • Faye Maya Media blog with research, planning and the short film Cereal for DinnerFaye Maya Media

Design & Technology in Secondary

Design & Technology gives students the opportunity to turn ideas into practical outcomes. Through designing, making, testing and refining, students combine creativity with technical knowledge, problem solving and practical skills.

The subject provides a natural progression from the designing and making experienced in Primary into increasingly sophisticated and independent work in Secondary.

  • A wooden name sign reading LEXIYear 7
  • A small robot figure made from offcuts of woodYear 7
  • A low bench made from reclaimed woodYear 7
  • An Alice in Wonderland shoebox dioramaYear 8
  • A Grinch-themed shoebox diorama with a snowy doorYear 8
  • Two bookmarks, one embroidered with a jellyfishYear 8
  • A wooden keyring with an illustrated panelYear 9
  • A wall clock made from wood with offcut hour markersYear 9
  • Poster outlining the Year 10 engineering and product development courseYear 10 course outline
  • A stepped wooden shelving unitMaxi, Year 10
  • A wooden side table with a slatted shelfAlba, Year 11
  • A wooden storage chest, shown closed and openLaura, Year 11
  • A hexagonal grey coffee table in a living roomAmaia, Year 11
  • IGCSE Design & Technology course poster
  • Two students working in the Design & Technology workshop with a pillar drill and 3D printer behind
  • A teacher helping a student build a paper structure
  • A student folding a paper structure at a workbench
  • Students testing paper columns at a workshop bench
  • A teacher guiding a student through a design task
  • A tall paper tower standing on a workbench
  • Two students taping a paper structure together
  • Several finished paper towers lined up for testing
  • Design sheets and paper prototypes on a workbench
  • A student marking out a piece of timber in the workshop
  • A student gluing the panels of a wooden box
  • A student using the pillar drill
  • A Year 7 Design & Technology class watching their teacher at the front of the workshop
  • A student cutting into a block of wood with a chisel
  • Students smoothing pieces of wood on the belt sander
  • A student marking out her wooden piece beside her sketchbook
  • A student cutting a wooden block with a coping saw
  • Two students working on their wooden pieces side by side
  • Three students measuring and marking out wood at the workbench
  • A student marking a line on wood with a pen and steel rule
  • A student working at the bench vice in front of the Year 7 project display
  • A student filing a wooden piece held in the vice

GCSE & A Level

For students who wish to develop their creativity further, Morna offers a strong range of creative examination subjects.

At GCSE, students can study Art, Photography and Design & Technology.

At A Level, students can continue with Art, Photography and Media Studies, developing increasingly personal and independent work and substantial creative portfolios.

GCSE Art & Design

  • GCSE Art & Design course poster
  • Painted portrait of Malcolm X with the words No Justice No PeaceCecile, Year 11
  • Painting of three children with oranges and lucky catsSolea, Year 11
  • Painted close-up of a face with smeared red lipstickEmilie, Year 11
  • Black and white painting of an old man with the word Stranger repeatedZaki, Year 11

GCSE Photography

  • GCSE Photography course poster
  • A figure waiting on a metro platform under orange lightsMaya, Year 10
  • Girls in white dresses sitting in an old olive treeKayla, Year 11
  • Es Vedrà framed through a rock window at sunsetLeny, Year 10
  • Two sun loungers on a clifftop above the seaLeny, Year 11
  • A graffiti-covered abandoned buildingLeny, Year 11
  • Two models in a room full of leopard printRio, Year 11
  • Portrait of a girl with decorated face and a plate of fruitRio, Year 11
  • A plastic chair and a painted table in a ruined buildingOtto, Year 11
  • Three boxers in gloves lit against a dark backgroundValentino, Year 11
  • Wet footprints on a wooden floor beside sheer curtainsValentino, Year 11
  • A butterfly layered over a faceCristina, Year 11
  • A girl's back with butterfly wings projected onto itCristina, Year 11

A Level Fine Art

  • A Level Fine Art course poster
  • Bold multicoloured painted self-portraitGilana, Year 12
  • Mixed-media panels of foil, wire and found objectsRocky, Year 13
  • Two hands sculpted from coiled wireRocky, Year 13
  • Charcoal drawing of a girl with long hair on brown paperRocky, Year 13
  • Handprints in deep blue and red on a blue groundHannah, Year 13
  • Two panels of blue handprintsHannah, Year 13
  • Painting of a pink apartment building seen from belowPaula, Year 12
  • Pencil life drawing of a standing figureGilana, Year 13

A Level Photography

  • A Level Photography course poster
  • A girl floating on her back in clear shallow waterEvi, Year 13
  • A face emerging from wet sandEvi, Year 13
  • A figure holding flowers in a bridal veil, lit from behindMaya, Year 13
  • A seated figure in a veil surrounded by flowers in warm lightMaya, Year 13
  • A figure in a glowing water tank in a dark roomMira, Year 13
  • Silver-toned portrait of a girl with a white fringeMira, Year 13
  • A woman in a white veil with a white horseMira, Year 12
  • A figure in a white suit sitting against a black backgroundLois, Year 13
  • Black and white photograph of two women on a pebble beachLois, Year 13
  • Sepia photograph of a woman raking hay by a farmMarina, Year 13
  • Black and white photograph of escalators in a London Underground stationVioleta, Year 13
  • A rose breaking into fragments against a magenta backgroundCinzia, Year 12
  • Three students posing in black on a Paris street near the Eiffel Tower

Outstanding Achievement

Our students' creative achievements have also been recognised beyond Morna. Students in Art and Media Studies have received Cambridge awards for achieving some of the highest examination marks in Spain, reflecting exceptional individual achievement and the quality of creative work produced at Morna.

Celebrating Creativity at Morna

Creative work at Morna is not simply produced in the classroom. We believe it should also be shared, displayed and celebrated.

Each year, our Art Exhibition brings together student work and provides an opportunity for students, families and the wider school community to celebrate the breadth of creativity across Morna.

  • Primary flower paintings pegged to a fence outdoors
  • Close-up of a bright Primary flower painting with tissue-paper petals
  • Paper monkeys and palm leaves hanging from a net in the trees
  • Close-up of cut-paper monkeys swinging on a rope net
  • A cut-paper tiger face among jungle leaves
  • A long wall of rainforest artwork inspired by John Dyer
  • Rainforest paintings of a macaw, a jaguar and a crocodile
  • Rows of Great Wave paintings in the style of Hokusai
  • A wall of Starry Night paintings in the style of Van Gogh
  • A Vincent van Gogh display of sunflower paintings
  • Doodle-style drawings in the manner of Keith Haring
  • Photo collages pinned across a display wall
  • Cardboard and papier-mache head sculptures on a table
  • An outdoor board of portraits and drawings
  • An outdoor board of student photography
  • An outdoor board of bird paintings
  • An outdoor board of ocean prints and jellyfish drawings
  • Poster for the Primary and Secondary Art Exhibition, art & photography
  • A display board of student paintings outdoors at the exhibition
  • Visitors looking at photographs at the Art Exhibition
  • A single landscape painting displayed on a white board
  • Design & Technology projects displayed at the exhibition
  • Paintings and mixed-media work on display under the pines
  • Rows of display boards with student artwork
  • Student photography displayed on boards outdoors
  • A line of exhibition boards with visitors behind
  • Primary artwork on a display board
  • Portraits and photographs on an exhibition board
  • Colourful circular prints displayed together
  • Black and white portraits beside colourful Primary work
  • GCSE paintings and photographs on display
  • A board filled with a mix of student drawings and prints
  • Black and white photography on display
  • Landscape photographs of Ibiza on display
  • Paintings and photographs among the trees at the exhibition

Art Auction for Charity

In recent years, our exhibitions have also included an Art Auction for Charity, where student artwork is auctioned to raise funds for charitable causes, giving students' creativity an additional purpose and connecting their work with the wider community.

  • Poster for the art and photography auction for UNICEF
  • Cover of the 2025 art and photography auction catalogue
  • A page from the 2025 auction catalogue showing the student works
  • A student holding up a framed photograph on stage during the auction

Explore More: Morna Artinational

For many years, Morna Artinational has provided a dedicated online space showcasing Art, Photography, Media Studies and Design & Technology at Morna, including an extensive archive of student work.

For anyone who would like to explore more of our students' creative work:

Morna Artinational: www.artinational.org

Morna International Art Department, www.artinational.org

A Creative Journey

From a child's first experiments with colour and materials in EYFS to the increasingly sophisticated and individual work produced by our GCSE and A Level students, creativity develops throughout a student's journey at Morna.

Students are given opportunities to explore, experiment and develop their ideas, the skills and specialist facilities to take those ideas further and, importantly, opportunities to show and celebrate what they create.

Colourful student prints and paintings on display at the Art Exhibition