Arts Council England has awarded Artsmark Gold to Lowton High School in recognition of the school’s commitment to, and excellence in, arts education. The highly coveted award goes to schools who provide outstanding education in the performing and creative arts and is only achieved after a rigorous application and vetting process.

Mr Shanahan, Head teacher of Lowton High School said:

“This is a fantastic achievement and I am delighted that our Performing and Creative Arts staff have received this prestigious award.”

“Artsmark is more than simply a mark of distinction to us; taking part in the scheme has enabled us to develop our arts provision, and see the students who take part become more self-confident, engaged and excited about learning. Nowhere is this more evident than in our current lower school (Yrs 7 – 9) performance of William Shakespeare’s a Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

After the first performance of Midsummer Night’s Dream the Head of the Performing Arts Department, Mrs Radford commented:

“I have been teaching for over twenty years and waiting to find a talented group of students capable of taking on the challenges of what could be argued to be Shakespeare’s most popular play. This year our lower school pupils have consistently shown in their lessons that they have the talent to rise to this challenge and I am pleased to say that they did not disappointed. The ability of the students to capture the comedic aspects of the play was fantastic; I lost count of the number of people in the audience who cried with laughter at Pyramus’s death scene.”

Alan Davey, Chief Executive, Arts Council England, said:

“Artsmark – now nationally recognised as a prestigious and coveted award – sets the standard for an outstanding arts provision in schools and it’s great to see Lowton High School attaining the Artsmark award this year. This award recognises the school’s commitment to providing exciting art experiences and their belief in the power of creativity.”