UK Arts Awards for Teens

UK Arts Awards for Teens: A faith-based approach.

If you have a creative child, one of the greatest benefits of home education is the opportunity they have to deeply develop their creativity and explore a wide range of art mediums. I’ve had a couple of children of my own who loved to create. They would spend hours each day working on various projects without the constraints of a timetable or the sound of a bell ringing to signal when it was time to stop and clean up, although it would have been nice if they’d actually cleaned up… (their creative projects often took over our house!).

But while home educating offers such freedom, a big frustration for home educators with creative kids is finding a way to give them a nationally recognised qualification in the creative arts. There are online courses for almost everything these days. But when it comes to the arts, Christian-based options can be hard to find. That’s where Arise Home Education comes in. We’ve worked hard to address this need. At Arise, we don’t just offer online Speech and Drama, Art, and Photography classes. We also provide a pathway to a recognized qualification in the creative fields through the UK Arts Award for teens and pre-teens.

Arise Art Classes and the UK Arts Awards

The UK Arts Award begins at the Explore Award level, which is designed for 7-11-year-olds. It provides a fantastic foundation for moving up to the Bronze, Silver, and, in the future, the Gold Award. This highest award carries UCAS points and can be used for university entrance. These Arts Award pairs seamlessly with our Art and Photography courses. However, if your child has a different creative passion, the Arts Award is flexible enough to accommodate any art form. Whether your child is into graphic design, digital art, dance, textiles, drama, literature, writing, or even game design, they can still work towards earning an Arts Award.

Being the creative type, two of our tutors, Joanne and Agnes, who each run a certified Arts Award Centre, love working with out-of-the-box kids who passionately pursue creative expression. Each is a certified arts award adviser with a range of unique qualifications and leadership skills. Being a theologically educated Christian, Agnes loves to join the dots between beauty, truth, and goodness; mentor kids into how to be good craftsmen, and produce God-honouring expressions. Joanne enjoys helping young artists learn about other Christian artists, encouraging them in their creative journey. 

Whatever your child’s gift is, we can guide them on developing it and stewarding it, and even think through how it could lead to a career.  We will also nurture your child’s confidence and skills in organising and showing off their work, as well as communication skills, learning from and analysing other artists, which will help deepen the creative skills to a whole new level.  The Arts Awards for Teens log book helps students keep track of their creative activities and is a great way to document their journey as they experience arts events and participate with cultural organisations.

Getting Started with the Explore UK Arts Awards for Teens and Pre-teens

The UK Arts Award for teens and pre-teens aims to support young people to grow their art skills and document their creativity. The goal is that young people gain confidence in their abilities as young artists and team players. The benefits are that these courses allow young people to embark on a creative journey exploring the arts while discovering their potential as artists. Being given the opportunity to gain recognised qualifications along the way. Additional skills developed in the process include creative thinking, communication, problem-solving, evaluative thinking, and leadership abilities. 

Next Steps in the UK Arts Awards for Teens

The UK Arts Award for teens and pre-teens is a qualification offered by Trinity College London. It has five levels, the middle three of which are offered by Arise and recognized on the Regulated qualifications framework. Explore being at Entry Level 3, Bronze being a Level 1, Silver being a Level 2, and Gold being a Level 3 qualification (worth 16 UCAS points).

 Arise art classes are a fantastic way for young people to achieve the Arts Award in any art form. However, in the context of the Arise program, this will be mapped alongside the art forms studied in their courses. This allows for a seamless creative journey, along with creative inspiration and recognition of creative achievement and learning. 

Explore is a great starting point in this journey for secondary-age children. The Explore Arts Award gives opportunities to:

• learn about art and artists,
• reflect on artwork,
• discover how art can be used within the community to benefit or bless others, and
• develop planning and presentation skills as the young person plans and presents an individual art project.  

Art Classes with a Christian Worldview

From a faith-based perspective, while all art courses and arts activities allow students to develop skills and talents and learn facts and information about Artists, the way this version of the Arts Award course is taught will reflect on the fact that Art is not a neutral subject. As such, discussions will be framed to allow the learner to reflect on the creativity of human beings, made in the Image of the Creator God. Learners will be encouraged to appreciate and grow these abilities with thankfulness for each of the Arts Award levels.

Moreover, the interactive nature of this version of the course encourages and builds up classmates in their gifts and skills. Skills that can serve young people well in future vocations. Within the Explore Arts Award course, we look at an Artist who used her skills to serve God and others, and a social project that uses Art within their community work and the service of their church.

Art Resources

• Navigating Online High School Art Curriculum: Essential Tips for Christian Homeschoolers
• Art Activities For High School Students: Learn Online
• Speech and Drama Class for Home Education Families
• High School Photography Curriculum | Online Homeschool

More from Arise Home Education

• UK Arts Awards for Teens
• Study Skills for Teens
• The Eclectic Home Education Method: Why kids love it.
• How to Home Educate: The Montessori Homeschool Method
• When Latin Becomes a Possibility | Learn at Home Resources