Dowdales School Impresses Arts Council England Chair During Visit.
Dowdales School in Dalton-in-Furness has welcomed the newly appointed Chair of Arts Council England, Dawn Airey CBE, during one of her first visits to an arts-focused school since taking up the national role.
The visit highlighted Dowdales’ long-standing commitment to placing arts education at the heart of school life. The school provides students with opportunities across drama, dance and music, alongside a wide programme of extracurricular activities.
Dowdales has developed partnerships with three major national arts organisations: the Royal Shakespeare Company, Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Representatives from the organisations joined the visit, giving Airey an opportunity to see how the partnerships contribute to students’ education and creative development.
During her time at the school, Airey watched an RSC rehearsal session and a dance performance developed following a workshop with Birmingham Royal Ballet. She also spoke with current students and a former pupil about how access to professional arts organisations had influenced their confidence, education and experiences.
The school’s Headteacher, Emma Aubrey, said the arts had been deliberately placed at the centre of Dowdales’ ethos because of the impact creative education can have on young people. She said the school had remained committed to providing these opportunities despite changes and pressures within education.
Airey recognised Dowdales’ approach to arts education as “trailblazing”, according to the school, reflecting the importance it places on ensuring creativity and cultural opportunities remain an important part of students’ education.
The visit also comes as Arts Council England looks at ways of increasing young people’s access to culture. Recent research highlighted by Airey found that only around half of children in England had visited a museum or theatre during the previous year, while about three-quarters had not visited an art gallery. Cost was also identified as one of the barriers preventing greater participation.
Dowdales’ partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company is part of a wider national programme designed to give young people greater access to professional theatre and creative learning. The RSC has previously identified Dowdales as one of its partner schools in Cumbria.
The school’s arts programme demonstrates how opportunities in drama, dance and music can be integrated into wider education rather than treated simply as additional activities. For students in Dalton-in-Furness, the partnerships provide access to professional artists and organisations that might otherwise be difficult to experience locally.
Airey’s visit therefore provided an opportunity to showcase the work already taking place at Dowdales while also highlighting the wider discussion around access to arts and culture for young people across England.
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