Recognising your young people for their hard work and celebrating their achievements is important both to you as an adviser and to us, at Trinity. This is why we launched our ‘Hall of Fame’ candidate recognition programme, which is now in its third year with our ‘Class of 2025’.
The Class of 2025 showcases young people who have achieved a Trinity qualification, including Arts Award, in the last 12 months. The young person can be nominated by their adviser, their parent or even a peer, and there are four categories they can be nominated in:
Achievement outstanding or high achievement in their qualification results
Do you have a young person who has really excelled? Maybe they have achieved all levels of Arts Award? Or perhaps they received really strong feedback from the moderator?
If so, you could nominate them in the category of Achievement.
An example from our Class of 2024 is:
‘Since first taking up playing the drums in September 2019, Alfie has taken four Trinity College London drum examinations. He achieved a Distinction in Grade 1 in 2020, a Distinction in Grade 2 in 2021, a Distinction in Grade 4 in 2022 and a Distinction in Grade 5, with 100% examination result in 2024. This superb set of results over the past four years shows not only Alfie's determination to do as well as he can, but his musical talent.
‘He works so very hard during his lessons with his teacher, which he funds from his part time jobs, and at home when practicing. Over the past four years Alfie has upgraded his electronic drum kit on three occasions, funding each new kit from his evening and weekend jobs.’- nominated by Geoffrey Heaps, Grandfather.
Overcoming challenges - qualification success despite difficult circumstances or barriers to access
Some young people may have to overcome extra barriers or difficulties in order to achieve their Arts Award and this is important to recognise. These barriers could include things like special educational needs, illness or bereavement, physical disabilities, or being NEET (Not in Employment, Education, or Training).
If you think your young person has achieved in spite of challenging circumstances you could nominate them for this category.
An example from our Class of 2024 is:
‘Will has overcome multiple challenges to complete his Arts Award Gold. Starting before lockdown Will had to completely adapt the way he was working. He moved from creating a hard copy sketchbook to a digital portfolio, found new ways to visit exhibitions and events, have creative development experiences and meet with artists and organisations. On top of this, Will experienced health problems throughout his journey which made keeping on track pretty challenging.
‘Will communicates in a unique way, using a communication board to express individual words, some of which might not even be listed! Will is very sure about what he wants to say and if those supporting him do not find the right word, he will keep them guessing for as long as it takes. Will has worked relentlessly hard, and using his creativity and talent, he succeeded!’- nominated by Layla Hignell-Tully, Adviser.
Creativity - originality, inventiveness, taking a creative approach to their qualification
Maybe you have a young person who has displayed some real inventiveness in their Arts Award work? For example maybe they experimented or tried new approaches/techniques to create their art work? Or maybe they organised a very ambitious Unit 2 Leadership Challenge?
If so, you could nominate them in the category of Creativity.
An example from our Class of 2024 is:
‘Zayn took his Grade 3 after playing the saxophone for little over a year. Not only did he achieve 96% (21 for each of his pieces) but his 'own composition' was of a particularly high standard showing creativity, maturity and understanding of both instruments and the melodic and harmonic language.’- nominated by Roxanne Benezra, Teacher.
Personal development - personal learning or skills development via their exam/qualification
The development a young person experiences through engaging with Arts Award can be measured in a number of ways. For example, they may have experienced significant progress in their art form from their starting point, such as being completely new to their art form.
Through participating in Arts Award young people can also develop other skills, that aren’t necessarily being assessed but are equally as important. For example, they may have strongly increased their personal confidence, communication, collaboration, presentation skills or project management skills.
Other young people may find that achieving their Arts Award has led to other opportunities. For example, maybe it supported progression to further education, or led into work or work experience opportunities.
If you feel a young person has shown real personal development, then you could nominate them for this category.
An example from our Class of 2024 is:
‘Although Robin had an interest in art, they had become disengaged from their art lessons, until their grandmother mentioned the sewing machine that the student's late mother had bought them. I asked if they would like to learn how to sew and was given a very positive nod.
‘This was their first experience of using the sewing machine. We threaded the machine, and I quickly noticed their impressive sewing skills. In the following weeks they made a fabric pot, which snowballed into tote bags and simple pattern cutting. During one session they showed me their sketchbook, unbeknown to me, the student had been using it and pointed to a small design of an upcycled denim dress they wanted to make.
‘Each session, I could see their confidence growing with their sewing, and I took the opportunity to further harness their engagement and introduce other parts of Bronze Award. It was wonderful to see the student discover an interest in the arts, and this journey clearly demonstrated the profound impact that teaching the arts can have on young lives.’ - nominated by Kate Mylne, Adviser.
We would love to spotlight your students and their fantastic achievements too, so don’t forget to nominate them for our Hall of Fame Class of 2025!
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