Emma Robertson of Ullswater Community College (UCC) shares their celebration of human rights and creativity; everything from climbing the highest heights to personal messages of hope.
We should have been embarking on the final stretch of our
Artsmark journey.
Meetings were scheduled, pilots planned, visits booked, and everyone excited about getting involved in new projects. Then out of what seemed like nowhere, something happened that we could never have anticipated: Covid-19.
But the human capacity to change and adapt quickly to the challenges that life throws in our path is truly amazing - in particular the ability of young people to take new ways of doing things in their stride.
Our school has a very large catchment area serving an extended rural community. We also have high numbers of students with education health care plans. As well as being a place for academic learning, school is hugely important for the health, mental well-being, expression and the social connection of our students, some of whom live miles from anywhere and from anyone else. Rural isolation also means limited access to big galleries, museums, theatres, cinemas, libraries, music venues and other diverse cultural experiences.
The goal of achieving our Artsmark has been to work more closely with our community and community partners to share skills and resources. We have also aimed to interweave arts, culture and creativity throughout the school and across all subject areas.