Arts College (United Kingdom)

An Arts College, in the United Kingdom, is a type of specialist school that specialises in the subject fields of the performing, visual, digital and/or media arts.[1][2] They were announced in 1996 and introduced alongside Sports Colleges to England in 1997, being one of the five "practical specialisms" of the specialist schools programme.[3][4] They were then introduced to Scotland in 2005 and Northern Ireland in 2006.[5][6] By 2011, when the programme ended, there were over 491 Arts Colleges in England.[7] More have been introduced since then,[8] however schools must be an academy, free school or use the Dedicated Schools Grant to become one.[9]

Arts Colleges logo

Arts Colleges are entitled by the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to select 10% of its yearly pupil intake based on academic aptitude, however this partial selection is optional.[10][11][12]

Arts Colleges act as a local point of reference for other schools and businesses in the area, with an emphasis on promoting art within the community.

History

Arts Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the now defunct specialist schools programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary and primary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, the performing, visual and/or media arts. After Arts Colleges were introduced to Northern Ireland, an additional digital specialism was made available. Schools that successfully applied to the Specialist Schools Trust and became Arts Colleges received extra funding from this joint private sector and government scheme.

The specialist schools programme was discontinued by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in April 2011. Since then schools can become Arts Colleges either through academisation or through the Dedicated Schools Grant.[13][9]

Sponsors

Under the specialist schools programme, schools that wished to specialise had to raise £100,000 (later £50,000) in a private sponsorship bid.[14] Many individuals and organisations supported schools wishing to achieve Arts College status. Film producer, educator and adviser to the Blair government, Lord David Puttnam, often supported bids for Arts College status and still calls on schools to expand arts provision in their curriculum.[15][16] Arts Council England supported English schools that were designating as Arts Colleges.[17] The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, deliverer of the specialist schools programme, also supported schools who wished to receive Arts College status, extending this support to designated Arts Colleges seeking re-designation.[18]

References
  1. "What are Arts Colleges". www.standards.dfes.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 18 December 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  2. "School awarded specialist status". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  3. "A history of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  4. "Specialist Science Schools" (PDF). buckingham.ac.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  5. "SNP ministers scrap £15m Schools of Ambition project". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  6. "NI specialist schools announced". 14 March 2006. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  7. "List of specialist schools October 2009". Department for Children, Schools and Families. Archived from the original on 12 October 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  8. Bailes, Kathy (16 February 2022). "Going maths mad at Ramsgate Arts Primary School". The Isle Of Thanet News. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  9. "Specialist schools programme: Michael Gove announces changes". GOV.UK. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  10. "School admissions and appeals". Department for Children, Schools and Families. 10 February 2010. Archived from the original on 30 March 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  11. "Specialist Schools - what do we know?" (PDF). risetrust.org.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 January 2018.
  12. "Specialist schools' selection 'illegal'". 11 July 2003. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  13. "Specialist Schools". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  14. "A history of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  15. "Puttnam Backs Bid". www.thegrays.thurrock.sch.uk. Archived from the original on 14 February 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  16. "Headteachers shun art in their schools due to worry about exam table rankings, says David Puttnam". The Independent. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  17. "Aspire. Planning for Arts College status" (PDF). www.artscouncil.org.uk. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. "Arts update spring 2005" (PDF). www.schoolsnetwork.org.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2006. Retrieved 10 January 2022.


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