Art & Craft Award

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

2009 Winner: Isambard Community School, Swindon

Although part of an original whole school curriculum, Art at Isambard is linked to the Flux programme, a government project to develop the arts in North Swindon. The Flux programme involved over 7,000 people taking part in a pilot to see if arts activities can positively affect young people and discourage anti-social behaviour.

Flux was based in the new school building, which has three purpose built art rooms located in a separate wing with the Technology Department. One of the rooms is designed specifically for three dimensional work with a clay store and kiln room. The other two rooms are general purpose with an interconnecting photographic dark room.

A key target group was the first two years' intake, with the aim to encourage participation in arts activities and possible training and careers in the creative industries.

Flux introduced Arts Blast – a period of weeks when normal lessons were shelved and all curriculum subjects were based around arts activities. During this time artists and teachers delivered classes such as making a horror film, and making a volcano (and seeing it erupt). One student commented: “It's really exciting because in French we're learning how to make puppets!”

Isambard is the first school in the country where all staff have been trained to be an Arts Award advisor, a nationally recognised qualification. Students gather evidence of participation in Arts activities. When their Arts Award advisor thinks that they have met all the criteria, their portfolio is submitted for moderation by an external advisor.

Year 7 and 8 pupils have been documenting the Flux project and have worked behind the scenes at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, interviewing Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the process, who visited the school recently. Arts Award certificates and young people’s work was displayed proudly on the wall as the Prime Minister was interviewed.

Commended: Woodcroft First School, Staffordshire
John Fielding Community Special School, Lincolnshire