Arts Mark Platinum Award
Penwortham Girls’ High School receives prestigious Platinum Artsmark Award
Students and staff at Penwortham Girls’ High School are celebrating after receiving a prestigious Artsmark Award in a momentous year for the programme as it celebrates 20 years of arts, culture and creativity in schools.
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.
In order to achieve their Artsmark Award, Penwortham Girls’ had to develop their arts and culture provision to embed a broad and ambitious curriculum. This was achieved by creating an overall plan that was committed to and delivered across the whole school.
Penwortham Girls’ were supported by Curious Minds in planning and developing their objectives. They worked alongside the school at various stages to support their Artsmark Award achievement.
The Artsmark assessor commended Penwortham Girls’ High School on the Arts qualifications they offer including a wider range of Arts GCSEs, Bronze Arts Award for all Year 7s and LAMDA qualification for Year 8 students. They continue to offer an arts rich education to their students with ring fenced curriculum time for arts subjects taught in every year by subject specialists. Arts and culture are deployed strategically to develop creativity and enhance achievement. They impact positively on wellbeing and strengthen the setting’s community.
On receiving the award, Karen Pomeroy, Headteacher, said: “We’re extremely proud of achieving our Platinum Artsmark Award; The highest possible accolade to be awarded by the Arts Council. We are committed to delivering a high-quality arts and cultural education here at Penwortham Girls’ which will prepare our students for their future.”
Dr Darren Henley CBE, Chief Executive of the Arts Council, said:
“I would like to congratulate Penwortham Girls’ High School on their Artsmark Award. Becoming an Artsmark school demonstrates that through offering a broad, ambitious, and creative curriculum, every student can develop character and resilience, increasing their knowledge, curiosity and skills that will remain with them through to adult life”.
About Artsmark Award
This year, the Artsmark Award celebrates its 20th anniversary as the only creative quality standard for schools and education settings. It can help unlock young people’s potential, building their confidence, character, and resilience.
Artsmark’s clear and flexible framework can be used to embed creativity across the whole curriculum, address school improvement priorities and ensure every young person can access a diverse, high-quality cultural education.
Artsmark is open to primary, secondary, and special schools, pupil referral units, secure settings, youth offending teams, hospital schools and sixth form colleges. Artsmark is awarded at three levels; Silver, Gold and Platinum.
Visit artsmark.org.uk for more information.
About Arts Council England
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision.
Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of the bodies administering the Government’s unprecedented £1.96 billion Culture Recovery Funds. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19.
Visit artscouncil.org.uk for more information.
Mrs Cattanach,
Associate Assistant Headteacher
& Curriculum Leader for Music
