Our recent ‘Vision & Values’ workshops highlighted our school as being somewhere where joy, flair and challenge is supported in the pursuit of educational excellence. The Arts are central to this idea of education inculcating a love of learning, of acquiring knowledge. Twentieth-century German phi-losopher Ernst Cassirer explained the importance of the Arts as follows: ‘Science gives us order in thoughts, morality gives us order in actions; art gives us order in the apprehension of visible, tangible and audible appearances.’ A good education pro-vides young people with an appreciation of the importance of the arts: a sense of why they matter, where they come from, how they fit together, why they can be sources of great pleasure and insight, and what additional insights they can yield when you study them. Aspects of training in the Arts – like motor control, attention and motivation – have been much-researched.
The practice of an art form has been found to increase the efficiency of students’ memory and attention network, to improve skills of problem-solving, organisation and perseverance, to boost team skills, enhance co-ordination and better mathemati-cal, reading and comprehension ability. Above all, as we have witnessed in countless lessons, performances and exhibitions, it promotes happiness in the students’ lives and those around them.
As Year 13 enter the final phase of their life at Challoner’s, we reflect on the opportunities afforded them and their aspira-tions. We look too to our younger pupils – those who will now ‘step up’ to have a go, to achieve, to aspire - to inspire. On Tuesday, girls from Years 7, 8 and 11 gave a beautiful recital at Amersham Free Church for members of our local community. They performed with a poise and confidence far beyond their years and garnered appreciation and respect for the musician-ship and pleasure they brought to their audience. What struck me during this concert was the powerful effect live artistry brings to the individual. In the midst of a busy day, these girls brought a calm serenity, an opportunity for reflection, admira-tion and pride. Earlier in the year, I had a similar experience when sitting in on KS3 and GCSE Art & Design lessons. Bearing witness to the creative process is a great advantage of my role. Many of our girls are hugely talented and to see them produce impressive creative pieces inspired by their teachers and important artists is a matter of great pride. In last week’s assem-blies, A-level Textiles and Art work was shared with Years 7 to 11 as we celebrated the skill, talent and dedicated commitment developed over many years to produce these results. Our A level and GCSE Art Exhibitions this term and next will demon-strate how, when our responses to the complex and contradictory character of some situations simply cannot be expressed in words, the Arts make internal experiences external.
An Arts education introduces students to another way of understanding themselves and the world, of expressing thoughts, experiences and feelings.
This year, our girls have participated in more than twenty concerts, four workshops, two exhibitions and a senior production. They have composed, performed, sculpted, painted, sketched and stitched. They have been to the opera and to exhibitions; still to come are animation workshops, gallery visits, three concerts and four days in Barcelona! We are immensely proud of their artistic achievements, both in the classroom and out; long may it continue!
Miss Joanna Korzinek
