118 Children at Kingsway Primary School Achieved Arts Award

118 children at Kingsway Primary School have achieved an Arts Award as part of START, a project to encourage creativity run by Children and the Arts with IVE.

These children from Year 4 and Year 5 have been working on a joint project with their school and Junction, a multi-award-winning centre for the arts in Goole, to explore the arts and create their own work. The project began with the children visiting Junction several times to see professional theatre work and then working with artists in the school. Starting in September 2017, the children visited Junction to see a shadow theatre show by Finger and Thumb, which was specially commissioned by the venue. Inspired by what they saw, the pupils and school worked with Junction to bring in another shadow theatre artist, Indigo Moon Puppet Theatre who worked with them so that they could create their own shadow work in school which they planned, wrote and performed in December 2017. The school  received rave reviews from parents and staff who saw the performance.

IVE Cultural Education Manager, Susan Cairns, commented on our delight that 118 children in Goole have achieved their Arts Award Discover, saying:

“We hope that by doing the Arts Award, the students at Kingsway School have discovered a lifelong passion for the arts, will feel empowered to continue their journeys as young artists and will keep being creative in the future. A big thank you must go out to the hardworking team at Junction in Goole who are one of Children and the Art’s Start partners. Start is a UK-wide programme that gives children in disadvantaged circumstances access to high quality arts experiences that increase their confidence, boost their self-esteem and raise their aspirations. IVE has been working closely with Children and the Arts and the Start partners in Yorkshire and the Humber to deliver the programme and we’re thrilled to hear another example of its success.”

Arts Award brings to light the creation and participation in a range of arts activities, with awards ranging from Discover for those aged 5 and over, up to Gold awards for those up to the age of 25. It can later be used as part of the young people’s CVs and is a mark of recognition for their creative endeavours.

Nicola Dixon, Youth and Community Arts Coordinator at Junction stated;

“I went into school to present the children with their Arts Awards, they all seemed so happy to have achieved their Awards. I was lucky enough to see their shadow shows last year, and am pleased they now have national recognition for the hard work they put into this project.  Well done Team Kingsway!”

Eibhlish Fleming from Children and the Arts finished;

“We are delighted that we have been able to support over one hundred young people from Kingsway Primary School to obtain their Arts Award as part of our Start programme. We hope that they are proud of this wonderful achievement, and that they will continue to explore and learn about the world of the arts in the future.

For more information about Arts Award visit the Arts Award page.

For more information about the START Programme please visit Children and the Arts.