West Town Primary Academy receives 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

To achieve their Artsmark Award accredited by Arts Council England, West Town Primary Academy, part of Meridian Trust,had to develop its arts and culture provision to embed a broad and ambitious curriculum. This was achieved by creating an overall plan for arts and culture that was committed to and delivered across the whole school.

The Artsmark assessor commended the Peterborough-based school for how it has embedded the drive for the arts across the school. The final report highlighted several key areas including the school’s “long-term commitment to arts and culture which is having measurable effects on staff and pupils”.

Also highlighted was the “diverse and consistent range of arts and cultural provision through work with local arts and cultural organisations, both in school and on visits outside the classroom, which leads to showcasing in school”.

The report congratulated the school for its successful partnerships with UROCK, Metal Culture and ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company, which the report said “is great for pupils”.

On receiving the award, Hannah Quinn, Headteacher at West Town Primary Academy, said: “We are extremely proud to receive the Artsmark Gold Award. We are committed to delivering a high-quality arts and cultural education to all of our pupils. We want our arts provision to inspire and enable our students to become highly creative individuals.”

Rachel Howes, Arts Specialist at the school said: "We are ecstatic to have achieved Gold Status. We feel that we are providing opportunities for students to embed our school values practically in a real context with a tangible outcome through a range of arts mediums and experiences.

"Students have provided feedback indicating that our creative arts program is both enjoyable and enriching. They describe it as fun, expressive, interactive, and conducive to building confidence, creativity, and collaboration. One student specifically mentioned realising significant personal growth in terms of confidence, independence, and self-esteem. In today's society, such experiences are invaluable."

Rachel continued: “We host art exhibitions each term for all students to showcase their work. Our new dance program features professional works, and students can also enjoy live performances and music activities. We look forward to seeing how our Creative Arts provision will benefit our students in the future.”

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

“I would like to congratulate West Town Primary Academyon their Artsmark Award. Becoming an Artsmark school demonstrates that through offering a broad, ambitious and creative curriculum, young people have the opportunity to develop character and resilience, increasing their knowledge, curiosity and skills that will remain with them through to adult life.”

High praise indeed and a testament to the school’s dedication to nurturing creativity and cultural understanding.