Shipley College Silver Arts Award Success

Three Music Technology students from Shipley College have gained a Silver Arts Award in recognition of their arts and leadership talents.

Josh Marrison, 17, Harrison Newboult, 17 and Charlotte Fountain, 18 had several challenges to complete to qualify for the award.  These included running  a percussion workshop for 50 young people at Bradford YMCA and forming a band and performing  for 200 young people at Big Music Live in Manchester.

The students are also currently working on The Big Music Project – which supports young people wanting to find jobs in the music industry.  They have had work experience and met professionals in the industry such as Ken Scott- producer for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Harrison says, “At the beginning of the Arts Award I was a bit shy and didn’t have much confidence, but after doing the projects my confidence and my leadership skills improved.”

Shipley College tutor Katherine Robertshaw says “I am always looking out for interesting working partnerships and projects to maximise the students’ learning opportunities.  The students have met people in the industry that they would not otherwise have met. They have gained deeper insights into lots of aspects of creative arts including performance, production, and event management. It has also challenged, inspired and motivated them.”

Josh, 17 explained “Doing the Silver Arts Award helped my confidence with playing in front of people and talking to new people. This also helped me when my band started gigging, as doing the workshops and performances within the Arts Award made my commitment and confidence levels much higher.”

A group of Level 3 Music students are now working towards their Gold Arts Award, to further improve their knowledge of experience in the music industry.