National Awards
Arts Mark Gold
Artsmark is a national award scheme managed by Arts Council England that recognises schools with a high level of provision in the arts. The award scheme is open to all schools in England: primary, secondary, special schools and pupil referral units, both maintained and independent. Artsmark provides a benchmark for arts provision which encourages schools to consider the opportunities they offer in art, dance, drama and music. By gaining an Artsmark a school shows its commitment to the wider development of young people and teachers and to raising the profile of the arts in the school and local community. There are three levels of the award: Artsmark, Artsmark Silver and Artsmark Gold.
The Chase has twice been successful in its application for Artsmark Gold, being unusual in achieving the highest level on first application. The demands for qualification are stringent and we have done very well to manage two successful Gold awards. With a wide diversity of Arts experience both in and out of the classroom, students have multiple opportunities. These have been further extended as a result of the rescheduling of the school day.
Among the opportunities available are: Art & Design opportunities at home and abroad, Creative Writing at home and abroad, Dance, Debating, Drama, Film Club, Music (individual instrumental tuition, bands, choirs, ensembles, orchestras) newspaper production, Photography, poetry readings given by writers of national and international repute, public speaking, theatre visits and visiting theatre practitioners.
Sportsmark Awards
The Department for Education and Skills, Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Sport England propose to revamp Sportsmark, Activemark and to introduce a new Sports Partnership Mark. The changes are designed to:
◦ build on the best elements of the existing schemes;
◦ ensure they meet the changing needs of schools;
◦ support the national Physical Education, School Sport and Club Links strategy (PESSCL)
More Information can be found on the Sports England Website. Click here to find out more...
Leading Aspect Award
Initiated in Birmingham Education Authority under the guidance of Professor Tim Brighouse, the Leading Aspect Award seeks to acknowledge high levels of achievement in schools and celebrate it. The award has been designed with, and by, educational practitioners as a means of recognising leading practice that exists in schools, families of schools, Higher and Further Education Institutions, Behaviour Support Services, Foster Care, Secure Accommodation, in fact anywhere where leading practice exists and which may or may not have been recognised.
The Chase successfully applied for a Leading Aspect Award, being recognised for its promotion of creativity across the curriculum. Such creativity is manifested in Art and Design, Catering, Charity Projects, Cross-Curricular Projects, Computing, Creative Writing, Cultural Exchanges, Dance, Drama, Design and Technology, Ecological Initiatives, Film Making, Film Studies, History, Imaginative use of the Internet, Mathematics, Media Studies, Music, Photography, Recycling Solutions, Textiles, Theatre Studies, Visiting Writers, Young Enterprise and Web Design.
We are proud of our promotion of creativity and want all students to have the opportunity to express themselves in ways that fulfill them.
International School Award
The Chase is proud of the international dimension that it fosters throughout the curriculum and this year has been awarded the prestigious International School Award by The British Council. The ISA encourages and supports schools to develop the following:
◦ An international ethos embedded throughout the school
◦ A majority of pupils within the school impacted by and involved in international work
◦ Collaborative curriculum-based work with a number of partner schools
◦ Curriculum-based work across a range of subjects
◦ Year round international activity
◦ Involvement of the wider community
◦ Provides ideas for developing collaborative curriculum-based international work with partner schools.
We believe that international links bring a vitally important dimension to the education of our young people ensuring that they build the skills and understanding to become global citizens ready and able to take their place in the world. We are committed to developing our curriculum and enrichment opportunities to ensure that Chase students take a lead in developing a global dimension throughout our school community.