Andrew Vaughan Is Head of Visual Arts at Acs Egham
What should families look for in a schoolhouse if they have a child who is particularly gifted in the performing arts or has a special interest in information technology?
Inventiveness has long been undervalued equally a primal skill for students, whether they are studying the arts or STEM subjects, with schools focussing on more than academic, quantifiable outcomes. However, with global employers crying out for graduates with skills that meet the needs of the 21st-century economic system – from innovation to critical thinking and adjustability – schools are placing a higher value on creativity and are looking for exciting and engaging means to nurture this skill in their students. In a alphabetic character to the Guardian newspaper in 2018, several prominent artists, including Tracey Emin and Antony Gormley, expressed their concerns well-nigh the condition of arts and creative subjects in UK secondary schools. Concerns were raised over the government'southward drive for 90% of GCSE pupils to choose the English language Baccalaureate (Ebacc) subject combination by 2025, which does non include any arts or creative subjects. The letter said, "There is compelling evidence that the study of artistic subjects is in decline in state schools and that entries to arts and creative subjects have fallen to their lowest level in a decade. Young people are beingness deprived of opportunities for personal evolution in the fields of self-expression, sociability, imagination and creativity."
The creative industries bring in over £100 billion to the UK economy each yr, but this is ofttimes little publicised in the bulldoze to make full job vacancies. Schools around the earth are realising the importance of STEAM, which takes the principles of STEM to the next level by incorporating that arts, and are working hard to promote artistic subjects.
The global creative success of one United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland state schoolhouse
Kirsty Mehta, deputy master at The BRIT School in Croydon, UK – a country-funded performing arts school that boasts alumni such every bit Adele, Amy Winehouse and Tom Holland – explains some of the keys to its success and why she believes that arts and creative subjects should be placed at the centre of the curriculum in order to help children thrive.
The BRIT Schoolhouse is one of just three land-funded performing arts schools in the country. Founded in 1991 by two musicians and investment from Richard Branson, information technology is a state-funded school with support from the British Record Manufacture Trust (BRIT). The school flies the flag for both the creative and vocational curriculum – 99% of its students go on to further education or employment and Ms Mehta believes strongly that the vocational subjects that students have at the schoolhouse (which are part and packet of the study programme) hateful that they are work-set and easily employable. Children can bring together at either 14 or 16 and – at 14 – study a cadre curriculum of GCSEs, which includes Maths, English language and Scientific discipline, merely they too take five hours a week dedicated to working towards BTEC qualifications in numerous performing arts subjects such as Movie & Media Production, Dance, Music, Visual Arts and Design. At 16+ students can choose BTEC qualifications, A Levels or a mixture of both. "Twenty per cent of our students go straight into the world of work afterward they exit our school considering they've been vocationally trained," says Ms Mehta. The hands-on feel also ways that they can develop their talents. Esme, a BRIT student who has recently been accepted to RADA says, "I knew I wanted to do theatre and backstage work from a young historic period. The BRIT school gave me the opportunities to railroad train in what I really wanted to practice."
A long route to success and the importance of business partnerships
Ms Mehta says that it has taken the school 25 years of hard work to become to where it is today, only information technology now generates global interest – Apple CEO, Tim Cook paid a visit to the schoolhouse, which resulted in a £280,000 donation of Apple products. Every bit a state-funded school, it has to rely on support like this to meet an additional £750,000 per year needed for its tech requirements. "The kind of educational provision at The BRIT School is normally something yous have to pay for," says Ms Mehta, "and I've oftentimes been asked how to bottle our success. The energy you feel when yous walk through the door is immense and it's hard to provide a design for that." Still, she did offer some advice to those looking to develop performing arts facilities in their schools or for families looking for a school that excels in creative subjects.
Traits to look for in a schoolhouse that values creativity
"Infrequent facilities and equipment are vital. We are very relaxed and free – we have no bells, no uniform, quirkiness is celebrated. Kids feel like they tin be who they want to be and are accepted," says Ms Mehta. "They also know that nosotros trust them – we have an open-door policy for all of our facilities. Students can utilise anything at whatsoever fourth dimension, which gives them responsibility and enables them to do. And nosotros don't have things stolen or ruined, which is infrequent in a school with i,300 students." "All these children are going into the world of work and you want them to be able to be successful in whatsoever they exercise – earn a salary through creative arts or wherever their talents lie, but schools are often so fixated on functioning measures that creative subjects are side-lined."
Opportunities at international schools
International and individual schools accept the advantage of financial support to be able to invest in facilities merely with and then many competing needs, they have to value the artistic curriculum if they are to invest in it. Students at Nord Anglia Schools such as The British International Schoolhouse of Chicago, Lincoln Park, benefit from an arts curriculum developed in collaboration with the globe-renowned Juilliard School. Students participate in activities adult by Juilliard, teachers have admission to the Juilliard Creative Classroom and Juilliard performers provide workshops, masterclasses and performances in the schools. "Through an over-focus – or obsession – with league tables, schoolhouse curriculums have narrowed, limiting children's pedagogy," explains principal, Ed Pearce. "Nosotros believe that education should do more than than this, and instead focus on educating the whole child. "Why brainstorm with the performing arts when we know how much weight is placed on conventional bookish performance? Because we believe that the performing arts can human action equally a key, unlocking many of those skills that inspire children to appoint with all their studies and dearest learning. Skills, which can, therefore, support academic success." Ian Robertson, head of Art at King'southward College Madrid, agrees, "Art, music and drama are a vital and enriching part of any child's education. They allow a child to develop alternative approaches and strategies for problem-solving and thinking. Even if children exercise not follow on to a creative career, they take with them the ability and skills to think differently and numerous studies take shown that employers value individuals with fresh viewpoints who can find culling means to solutions."
ACS International Schools
In 2015 ACS Cobham opened a multi-1000000 pound Performing Arts Centre, which includes a 500+ seat auditorium, classrooms, music studios and practice rooms. It is one of the just schools in the UK to have a professional person fly belfry to move large scenery during performances. Andrew Vaughan, head of art at ACS Egham International School, explains why they channelled investment into their arts curriculum, "I could quote hundreds of statistics from the business organisation world that demonstrate the importance of artistic arts to the economy. Simply perhaps the most disarming argument for parents is the homo one. Art is a doorway to open-concluded inventiveness, it allows us to explore and express personal feelings and responses to the world. It is your view of the world, and how you convey it. It is perfectly, uniquely yours. We can assist you lot develop your skills, but the inner vision and inspiration is your ain. "We are extremely lucky at ACS to take robust, well-resourced fine art provision, and come across it as a vital part of every child'due south education. We embed art across the curriculum and consider it an essential partner with scientific discipline learning."
Shanghai Community International Schoolhouse (SCIS)
SCIS has besides invested in its arts curriculum and offers a wide range of music, drama and visual arts subjects, as SCIS marketing and communications manager Mun Yee Choo explains, "At SCIS, the arts programme is robust, well rounded and fuelled past teachers who are every bit passionate as they are talented and knowledgeable well-nigh their subject. Our students are taught the whole creative process, from critical observation and thinking to reflection and presentation, while also being challenged to express their artistic selves." SCIS has a rich music programme, which seeks to foster in students an appreciation of musical concepts and traditions. Yee Choo adds, "The music curriculum uses the truly international diversity of the school as a springboard for studying different musical styles and forms. Students will develop aural perception and understanding of music past learning about musical elements, including form and structure, notations, musical terminology, and context. The schoolhouse's visual arts program encourages students to challenge their ain artistic and cultural expectations and boundaries. "Students will develop analytical skills in problem solving and divergent thinking, while working towards technical proficiency and conviction equally art-makers. Too, students are encouraged to develop an appreciation of fine art from different periods and cultural heritages," explains Yee Choo. The SCIS theatre grade is multifaceted and allows students to actively engage in theatre as creators, designers, directors and performers."Theatre is a practical subject that encourages discovery through experimentation, adventure-taking and the presentation of ideas. It emphasizes working both individually and collaboratively equally part of an ensemble. Students will explore, learn, discover and collaborate to become autonomous, informed and skilled theatre-makers," says Yee Choo. "The film course is to let students go adept in both interpreting and making picture texts and allowing them to explore motion-picture show history, theory, and socio-economical background. The course develops students' critical abilities, enabling them to appreciate the multiplicity of cultural and historical perspectives in flick. Students are taught to consider flick texts, theories, and ideas from unlike individuals' perception, nations, and cultures, to reach an international understanding of the globe of film."
Nurturing a kid with creative talent
And then what should relocating families look for in a school if they have a kid who is specially gifted in the performing arts or has a special interest in it? "Yous have to expect at the curriculum," says The BRIT Schoolhouse's Ms Mehta. "What are the pick choices bachelor to students? Is there an emphasis on artistic subjects within the school and do they offer peripatetic lessons? "Facilities are important but I would say that the school has to take the volition to back up it in the start – that'due south where the bulldoze should come up from. Children may exist able to develop their talents if the school's actress-curricular opportunities inside the arts are particularly skillful, even if the facilities within the schoolhouse aren't exceptional." While many schools around the world recognise the importance of creative subjects and are ensuring their prominence in the curriculum, other schools struggling with the weight of performance measures are side-lining them for league tables. The huge benefits of studying creative subjects should mean that all schools ensure every pupil has admission to an inspiring creative curriculum. 
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