Art & Craft Award

sponsored by Brian Clegg
Presented to the educational establishment that can provide first class learning environment and modern, flexible facilities for students of art & craft.

2011 Winner: Burnholme Community College, York

According to Ofsted, which rated Burnholme Community College’s Art Craft and Design as outstanding last year, much of the success at the department can be attributed to a mutual respect between students and teachers, with the students realising the consideration and planning that is given to lesson activities. Lunchtimes and after school sessions are well attended and can provide a significant boost to pupil achievement. Community-based projects and work with local primary schools encourage students to think beyond the intrinsic value of the subject. Students are taught to appreciate artistic and creative styles as well as individual artistic statements about contextual themes. Earlier this year, Year 10 students participated in a sculptural workshop with Leeds based artist, Nichola Pemberton. Students worked in the style of Henry Moore, producing life size figurative sculptures and expressive drawings of them. The College’s aim to ‘provide stimulating experiences that allow for personal expression within wide contextual frames’ is being more than catered for.

Commended

Brentside High School, London
Brentside High School has a strong drama tradition in the community and is considered a centre of excellence for the Visual Arts, always expecting exceptional standards: second in Saatchi Gallery School Art Prize and winner of the London Education Partnership Awards. Achievement derives from the school’s well-funded facilities, including a new purpose-built art and design area, ceramics studio, 3D Design workshop and two multi-media suites with ‘state of the art’ Apple Macs – and two specialist drama areas and fully equipped Drama studio. Their motto of ‘learning and achieving together’ extends from working with other Ealing schools to promote arts and drama, to arranging ‘artists and designers in residence’ to inspire students in their work. Many go on to work at film studios, advertising agencies, BBC, or become professional fine artists in their own right. Ofsted noted that for 2010 ‘all Brentside students made successful transitions into further education or employment.’

Holte Visual & Performing Arts College, Birmingham
Holte College is an ambitious specialist in the visual and performing arts, committed to learning together through primary subjects – art, design, crafts, drama and music – across the school and among the community. That commitment was recently recognised with the Times Educational Supplement Outstanding Leadership Team Award for 2011. There is a determination to drive up educational standards and to put the arts at the heart of pupil learning in all of the other subjects. A culturally and artistically rich curriculum, working in partnership with professional artists in different disciplines, provides sustained experiences that involve high level technical skills in a cooperative environment. Music exemplifies the match through high quality facilities. There are two specialist music technology rooms and recording studio capable of high-quality digital recordings of pupils’ work; Apple Mac computers, quality acoustic instruments, including guitars, djembes, and tuned and untuned world percussion as well as two first-rate digital pianos.