Croydon High School GDST receives prestigious Artsmark GOLD Award

Croydon High School GDST receives prestigious
Artsmark GOLD Award

Pupils and staff at Croydon High are celebrating after receiving a prestigious Artsmark Gold Award in a momentous year for the programme as it celebrates 20 years of arts, culture and creativity in schools.

Elizabeth Smith, Director of Teaching & Learning and Head of Art and 3D Design at Croydon High School says:

“Mrs Webb and I are absolutely delighted with the news that we have received an Artsmark Gold Award, over the last four years we have been working on our statement of impact and as a school community developing our provision for the Arts and culture within our curriculum and we are looking forward to developing our journey even further.”

^{(Girls taking part in Arts Week 2023 at Croydon High performing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and creating furniture out newspaper)}

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.

Dr Darren Henley CBE, Chief Executive of the Arts Council, said:

“I would like to congratulate Croydon High 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.”

^{(Over 100 pupils from Year 5-Y13 take part in the annual school musical – Jesus Christ Superstar in 2023 with 140 due to take part in Beauty & the Beast in 2024)}

In the report from the Artsmark assessor, it said:

“You clearly value the arts as an integral part of your curriculum at Croydon High School, and recognise their contribution to your (co-curricular mantra) of ‘Alis Propriis Volat – She Flies with Her Own Wings’. As a result of your firm commitment to promoting arts and culture within your setting over this first Artsmark journey, you have seen GCSE and A Level numbers increase across all arts subjects, culminating in an exciting build project of a new drama space and 3D Design workshop.

Students’ learning is being enriched through the provision and uptake of an enhanced array of interesting arts clubs, and your offer of education visits to arts and culture venues. Girls enjoy regular opportunities to showcase their work in productions, exhibitions, recitals, competitions, festivals (including the Coram Shakespeare Schools Festival and Edinburgh Fringe) and in your regular Arts and Culture Weeks, resulting in increased engagement, and raising their profile of the arts with parents, and the community.

Your young people are also afforded the opportunity to gain further arts qualifications, such as LAMDA and Crail Awards*. Participation in, and creative responses to, UCL’s Beacon Schools programme has deepened students’ knowledge and understanding of the holocaust and the importance of fighting racism. Your partnership with the Ice and Fire Theatre Company has promoted the values of tolerance and respect, including for those with protected characteristics, including the LGBTQ+ community and those who are displaced and seeking sanctuary.

Through the enhancement of your co-curricular programme, involvement in the arts has increased, and some older students have been involved in the leadership of delivering creative activities to younger girls. Senior leaders are working with your Sixth Form Prefects in Discussion and Action groups across a variety of topics. You are in a strong position to champion the arts and grow your sphere of influence beyond your school.

We greatly look forward to hearing how you continue to build on your current successes and, hopefully, influence and support other settings and evidence the difference this makes.”

_{(SHE performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022)}

_{*The Crail Award is our KS3 co-curricular engagement award, named after a former governor of the school Richard Crail, a firm supporter of the Arts.  The KS4 and KS5 co-curricular engagement award is Alis Propriis Volat}

^{(Junior and Senior Students collaborating to paint ‘Gloria’ the Giraffe – a collaborative piece of art for ‘Croydon Stands Tall’ to raise awareness for CRISIS)}

Croydon High School also have some alumnae who are excelling in the Arts and their work can be seen here:

• See Croydon High alumna Helen Chadwick’s work in ‘Women in Revolt’ 8 November – 7 April, Tate Britain
• See Croydon High alumnal Rhea Dillon: Alterable Terrain until 1 January, Tate Britain
• See Croydon High alumna Daisy Collingridge first solo show until 11 November, TJ Boulting
• See Croydon High alumna Caroline Ip’s curation of ‘It all starts with a thread’ until 31 December at the Whitechapel Art Gallery

^{(Rhea Dillon – Tate Summer 2023 Issue 58)}