We were delighted to learn that National Church of England Academy, part of Diverse Academies, has been awarded the ArtsMark Gold Award following our recent submission. The Arts are a critical part of human experience and therefore crucial for all young minds – we are delighted that we offer a broad and balanced curriculum including arts subjects, as they create superb learning and personal development opportunities.
Acting principal Ms Heath said of the award, “Arts subjects help to engender an appreciation for creative thought and bring out aspects of a student’s development which otherwise might be dormant and undiscovered. They bring soul-enhancing experiences and encourage tolerance, emotional response, wonder, excitement as well as skill development and hard work through practice. This award puts arts subjects to the forefront of the academy and we are proud of this.”
The assessors from Artsmark commented that “The National Church of England Academy is to be commended for providing a range of high quality cultural and artistic opportunities for pupils. The academy has built on its secure foundations and extended opportunities for pupils across the Arts. Pupils now have the opportunity to pursue GCSE photography, and a BTech Music course has been added to help increase take up in this area. Partnerships with a range of professional artists and organisations have provided pupils with high quality authentic experiences and the opportunity to perform in a wide range of locations. Arts and cultural activities are firmly embedded across the curriculum with inter departmental working to ensure pupils benefit from a creative curriculum approach.”
Congratulations to art teacher Mrs Watters and music teacher Mr Clarke for their hard-work in obtaining this award, and for providing such great arts experiences and opportunities for students at National.
