Pupils and staff at St Hild’s Church of England School are celebrating after receiving a prestigious Artsmark Award in a momentous year for the programme, as it celebrates 20 years of arts, culture and creativity in schools.
The Artsmark Award is the only creative quality standard for schools, accredited by Arts Council England. It supports schools to develop and celebrate arts and cultural education, putting creativity and wellbeing at the heart of the curriculum.
Artsmark ensures every young person can be creative and access a diverse, high-quality cultural education
In order to achieve their Artsmark Award, St Hild’s had to develop their arts and culture provision to embed a broad and ambitious curriculum. This was achieved by creating an overall plan that was committed to and delivered across the whole school.
The school was supported by The Culture Bridge North East team in planning and developing their objectives. The Culture Bridge North East team were alongside the school at various stages to support their Artsmark Award achievement.
The Artsmark assessor commended St Hild’s, saying: “The continuing commitment to the value of the Arts despite the impact of the pandemic is impressive.”
On receiving the award, Headteacher Tracey Gibson said: “We are extremely proud of achieving our Artsmark Silver Award. We are committed to delivering a high-quality arts and cultural education and we look forward to continuing to grow with Artsmark and achieve the Gold standard. Well done to all involved.”
Dr Darren Henley OBE, Chief Executive of the Arts Council, said: “I would like to congratulate St Hild’s School on their Artsmark Award. Becoming an Artsmark school demonstrates that through offering a broad, ambitious, and creative curriculum, every pupil can develop character and resilience, increasing their knowledge, curiosity and skills that will remain with them through to adult life.”