The Arts: Going from strength to strength at King’s St Alban’s

 Playing a significant role in the diverse curriculum at King’s St Alban’s, the Arts have for some time been a particular strength. We are, therefore, thrilled to announce that King’s St Alban’s has been formally recognised for its outstanding arts provision, receiving a Gold Artsmark Award. 

 Accredited by Arts Council England, the Artsmark award is open to all primary and secondary schools as well as other education settings across the country. The process, whilst non-competitive, is extremely rigorous, requiring entrants to meet stringent criteria with exceptionally ambitious standards expected in all areas to achieve such a high-level award. 

The King’s St Alban’s community is exceptionally proud to receive a Gold certificate, which celebrates the culmination of over two years of challenging work by everyone across the school. Whilst art, music, drama and dance have always been strong, to achieve Gold status it was necessary to demonstrate a wealth of arts experiences beyond the traditional settings of plays, concerts, and dance shows, although these continue to play a central part in the life of King’s St Alban’s as well. Ensuring that the Arts feature widely across the curriculum, extending to STEM subjects, King’s St Alban’s aims to inspire the next generation through workshops with arts professionals such as 2-Face Dance Company and The Flying Potter. King’s St Alban’s relishes the opportunity to join forces with other schools for events such as Evensong hosted at Worcester Cathedral and takes regular arts-based trips, all of which form an important part of the Arts Education at the school. 

The assessors were extremely impressed by the wealth of opportunities enjoyed by the pupils at King’s St Alban’s. It is understood that awards such as the Artsmark are not achieved effortlessly, and the staff have all played an important part in making the award a reality. Reinforcing the King’s St Alban’s community’s honour in receiving the award, Headmaster, Mr. Richard Chapman said, “I am delighted that we have been awarded our Artsmark Gold Award. The Arts have always been a strength at King’s St Alban’s and this helpfully rigorous process has allowed us to look at our provision, reflect and develop to enrich our pupils’ experience of the Arts further. We are proud that all our children are immersed in music, drama, poetry, dance and art, both inside and outside the classroom on an almost daily basis; this is so important! I congratulate our children and their hardworking teachers on a super achievement.” 

With the start of the new academic year now well underway so too are our trips, workshops and rehearsals, which are already complementing the daily curriculum. King’s St Alban’s looks forward to an array of exciting Arts events with anticipation and excitement, looking at our achievement with pride.