Wellington College Awarded Prestigious Artsmark Platinum Award

Published by Wellington College on Tuesday 27th of June 2023

Pupils and staff at Wellington College in Berkshire are celebrating after being awarded a Platinum Artsmark Award, the highest award given by the Arts Council England.

Artsmark was set up in 2001 to put creativity and wellbeing at the heart of the curriculum for all children and young people. In their feedback, the Arts Council said “It is very clear that Wellington values the Arts and provides an outstanding range of opportunities to its pupils, within and way beyond the timetabled curriculum.”

Simon Williamson, Director of Arts at Wellington said: “We are hugely proud of the Artsmark Platinum Award which acknowledges Wellington’s deep commitment to cultural education and our determination to give every pupil access to the arts, as well as providing support and opportunities for the wider community beyond the College”

The number of students involved in the arts at Wellington is huge with up to 1,000 LAMDA and music lessons taking place each week, as well over 40 co-curricular dance classes. The school’s impressive facilities include The Annenberg Performing Arts Centre which holds a West-End style theatre where pupils put on professional standard performances, like Legally Blonde, on a grand scale.

Artsmark applauded the support Wellington provides to other educational settings including TeachMeets – a forum for local arts teachers to come together, exchange ideas and get inspired. The College also invites other schools to participate in its arts events like The Festival of Musical Theatre where Wellington pupils performed alongside students from local state and prep schools. Much of the money raised from ticket sales at College performances goes towards the Wellington Arts Fund. To date, over £80.000 has been given away to other schools for special arts projects.

Simon Williamson, believes the benefits of a cultural education are far reaching. He says: “In a future where AI is likely to play an ever-dominant role, the performance and creative skills – not to mention teamwork – that pupils gain through immersing themselves in the arts, should not be underestimated.”