Gold Arts Award opening doors

As we continue with our ‘backstage and technical theatre’ theme on the blog this month, Ruth Brown, Faculty Lead: Creative Arts at The Duchess’s Community High School in North Northumberland tells us about their Gold Arts Award programme and how it opens doors for their students, builds their self-esteem and confidence, and connects them to new pathways.

The Duchess’s Community High School (DCHS) is a large rural comprehensive school and member of the Pele Trust (Multi Academy Trust). As a rural school, we are acutely aware of the challenges facing our students with regard to social mobility, cultural diversity and opportunities to explore cultural and creative industries outside of the normal school curriculum.

The ethos of our Creative Arts Faculty is simple - to provide high quality teaching, creative and cultural opportunities and industry specific experience for all pupils. The Arts Award framework, alongside the quality principles of Artsmark, have helped to support our blueprint for delivering high quality extracurricular enrichment. DCHS is a Platinum Artsmark school and an Arts Award Trinity Champion Centre offering Arts Award at Explore, Bronze, Silver and Gold levels across Key Stages 3 - 5 to enrich, support and nurture creative leadership at all stages of our students careers. Our values of collaboration, persistence, discipline, imagination and inquisitiveness are nurtured within this framework, to actively promote career pathways, develop cultural partnerships and measurable impact in a way that enables our young people agency, cultural exploration, confidence, team building and leadership opportunities. Arts Award helps builds leaders of their craft and creative leaders of the future, enabling young people to explore their existing and future creative interests, cascade their knowledge and skills to others and develop leadership growth outside traditional classroom settings.

Post Covid, we saw a need to allocate curriculum time to the Gold Arts Award, embedding it into the Sixth Form curriculum model so we now offer it as a timetabled option for our Year 12 students within their enrichment programme. Creative and performing arts has a proud and long heritage at DCHS and our strong links with The Alnwick Playhouse have provided the backdrop for many aspiring director, thespian, stage manager, costume or set designer to tread the boards; many of whom continue to support young aspiring artists, actors, lighting, sound and marketing students as they navigate their way through their leadership journey from concept to fee paying audience.

In Unit 1 of Gold, students develop themselves as a creative practitioner, upskilling or deepening their knowledge about creative careers, learning new crafts or develop their understanding of new arts pathways through to exploring an arts issue and researching into an issue of interest or relevance to them. Many of our theatre students use Unit 1 as a vehicle to try something new or experience working alongside specialist practitioners - once in a while even the teachers get interviewed as creative practitioners, each specialising in their own field of expertise!

Unit 2 of Gold is all about leadership - leading, planning, managing teams, delivering projects from concept to realisation. We are extremely fortunate to have The Alnwick Playhouse on our doorstep and have forged a lasting relationship which spans more than 20 years. Our twice annual performances are shown at The Alnwick playhouse in March and November to critical acclaim. Students develop industry standard skills, working with professionals to run front and back of house, lighting and sound production, set, costume and make up, choreography and direction. In addition to leading teams of students from theatre direction, music production and composition all the way through to communication, marketing and finance.

Gold Arts Award provides the perfect balance between working professionally and learning alongside industry professionals, helping to open doors and support student development. We try to ensure the experience is as authentic as possible for our students - from auditioning and pitching their vision, to recruiting teams or crews for key areas of production. Photography students are ‘employed’ to market and promote events, whilst documenting the evolving auditions, casting and rehearsals. To come to one of our shows is to come to a professional working theatre production produced exclusively by a student crew aged under 18. Every year I’m amazed by the quality of performance, the quality of production and the quality of leadership shown by our students, not least by our Gold Arts Award students. Not all of our students lead aspects of the school productions, but for those who do, Gold Arts Award is the perfect platform to showcase the leadership unit delivering concept to public viewing, demonstrating artistic imagination, collaboration and originality for each student portfolio.

Martin Allenby, Director of Post 16 Education & Guidance said; ‘The Arts Award Gold programme enables our young people to enhance their experiences and expertise in key areas and builds confidence and independence that many of our students take into their next steps, wherever that may be.’

When reflecting on their journey, students talk about their increased confidence in managing teams of older and younger students (including teachers), the growth of their communication skills and the fulfilment of taking something from concept to production. One current year 12 student has been successfully leading our set and prop crews since year 10 and this year, in addition to running a strong design crew, is also stage manager - the powerhouse behind this year’s production of Flint Street Nativity. No stranger to the life of a Director, she has been trained to the role by past students who have qualified and gained enviable work experience through undertaking Gold Arts Award.

The work of participating students doesn’t go unnoticed by the teachers in the school. We know the commitment students give, how generous they are with their time and the incredible experiences and friendships that are forged through their work. Peer feedback to Gold Arts Award students Danny and Tanya echo those of teachers:

‘The attention to detail on the set and props was incredible... [they were] really helpful if a problem arose and kept control very professionally.’

‘Danny showed great leadership by speaking to members of the Creative Arts Team to organise what was needed to be included in the programme, musical video trailer and photo board. He led his student team well by sorting specific job roles for each of them, giving them tight time frames and directing the team through specific feedback and instructions from relevant staff. Jobs included; directing and filming the video, photography, writing and asking the cast questions, editing the final video together to go out to the wider public and photoshop editing on the programme where he liaised with Mr Allenby and myself a lot to ensure that all relevant content was covered before going to final print. Re-evaluating the work as it progressed, took feedback on board and edited where necessary. Danny constantly seeked support and guidance to allow the high-quality outcome for both pieces.’

Through our Gold Arts Award programme, students learn to manage projects from concept to execution, fostering their confidence and creativity. Our vibrant arts community empowers students to explore their interests, develop essential skills, and embark on fulfilling pathways in the creative industries. Each year, we celebrate the exceptional talents and leadership of our students, showcasing their achievements in productions that reflect their hard work and dedication. Gold Arts Award is a diverse and rich creative programme for students to find their voice, to lead on projects, think big, be creative and actively engage with creative industries and professionals. It opens doors, builds self-esteem and confidence, connecting young people to new pathways and beyond.

We might be a rural school, but we are mighty in getting our young people’s voices heard - the best bit is watching our young professionals grow, flourish and aspire to do great things. Where will your journey take you?

Scenery painting

Example from a young person's Gold portfolio

All photos by The Duchess's Community High School