Pupils and staff at Great Torrington School are celebrating after receiving a prestigious Artsmark Gold Award.

 

Artsmark is the only creative quality standard for schools, accredited by Arts Council England. It supports them to develop and celebrate arts and cultural education across the whole curriculum, bringing learning to life for children and young people.

 

We are thrilled to share the feedback we received from our assessors with you:

 

'During your second Artsmark journey, stakeholders at Great Torrington School have sustained and developed your strong arts provision. You have sought to create opportunity, where previously there has been paucity of experience for some students; and have increased cultural capital, particularly for those young people who are disadvantaged. The expressive arts have been an important vehicle for your ethos of personal development, supporting the emotional wellbeing of the whole school community, especially as part of your post-pandemic recovery curriculum.

 

Targeted interventions such as art therapy via an Art Intervention Mentoring (AIM) project have had positive effects on vulnerable pupils, affording them space to explore and process feelings and to develop resilience and good mental health.

 

Students' learning is being enriched through the provision and increased uptake of an enhanced array of interesting arts clubs (such as choir, GTS Rocks and your musical theatre production of Legally Blonde), and your offer of education visits and residentials to arts and culture venues.

 

The wider participation of staff with various roles and responsibilities across the school has enabled students to see the importance of the arts and has further enhanced positive relationships between staff and students.

 

Your young people enjoy regular opportunities to showcase their work in productions, exhibitions, recitals, competitions, in local publications and through your longstanding partnership with National Theatre Connections, resulting in increased engagement; boosting students' self-confidence; and raising their profile of the arts with parents and the community'.

 

Our thanks to Mark Pluckrose and all the teachers and staff who are committed to making the learning opportunities so varied here at Great Torrington School.