Pupils and staff at Saint Benedict Catholic Voluntary Academy in Derby are celebrating after receiving a prestigious platinum Artsmark Award.
Artsmark is the only creative quality standard for schools, accredited by Arts Council England. It transforms teaching through creativity, empowering teachers with the skills they need to embed arts, culture and creativity across the whole curriculum, and is proven to support pupil outcomes and wellbeing.
To achieve their Artsmark Award, Saint Benedict had to develop their arts and cultural 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.
During their two-year journey, Saint Benedict received professional support through an immersive learning programme from Artsmark’s delivery partner, Goldsmiths, University of London, who are world-renowned leaders in creative pedagogy and cultural placemaking.
The Artsmark Assessor commended Saint Benedict and said: “Saint Benedict CVA has delivered a confident and purposeful Artsmark journey that places creativity and cultural learning at the heart of its ethos, pedagogy and strategic vision. The arts are used not simply to enrich school life, but to advance core educational aims around equity, identity, wellbeing and academic progress.”
On receiving the award, Anna West, Director of Performance and Creative Arts at Saint Benedict, the everyone was extremely proud to have achieved Artsmark Platinum Award.
She said: “We are committed to delivering a high-quality arts and cultural education because we believe every child deserves the chance to be inspired, to discover who they are and to find something that helps them shine. Our Artsmark journey has transformed our school by placing creativity and culture at the heart of school life, not as an extra, but as something every young person is entitled to experience.
“Having worked at the school for 18 years, I have had the privilege of seeing the extraordinary impact that the arts can have on generations of children who have come through our doors. I have seen children find their confidence, discover talents they did not know they had, and experience moments of real pride and belonging through music, drama, art and performance. Those experiences stay with them. They shape how young people see themselves and what they believe is possible.
“Just as importantly, this journey has also had a powerful impact on our staff and wider school community. It has given colleagues the confidence to be creative, to work in partnership, and to see the arts not as an add-on, but as a vital part of how we engage, inspire and connect with young people. That shared belief has helped build a culture in which creativity is valued, championed and lived across the school.
“More recently, we have been able to deepen that impact even further, reaching beyond our own school through meaningful partnerships with organisations such as Derby Theatre and our feeder primary schools. Through this work, the arts have become more than something enriching or enjoyable; they are now recognised as an essential part of every child’s entitlement. We want all young people to leave school not only with knowledge, but with the creativity, confidence, communication skills, resilience, empathy and collaboration they need to flourish in an ever-changing world.
“I am immensely proud of this journey and the difference it continues to make. What has been most powerful is seeing the arts move from being valued by some, to being embraced by all as part of the very identity of our school and our hopes for the children and community we serve. At its heart, this is about making sure that every child, whatever their background, can experience beauty, wonder, self-expression and success, and leave school believing that their voice, their ideas and their creativity matter, and that they can step forward into the world with confidence.”
Dr Darren Henley OBE, Chief Executive of Arts Council England, said:
“I would like to congratulate Saint Benedict on their Artsmark Award. Creative activities and cultural experiences enrich our lives, open our minds to new possibilities and help us make sense of the world around us. As an awarded Artsmark school, you’re demonstrating that by offering a broad, ambitious and creative curriculum, your young people will develop character and resilience, increasing their knowledge, curiosity and skills that will remain with them through to adult life.”
