Duration: 2 years
Level: Level 3
What will you study?
- Personal arts development
Unit 1. Extending your arts practice in a new art form alongside practitioners, exploring career opportunities in the arts through workshops, researching practitioners and reviewing arts events, and forming and communicating a view on an arts issue - Leadership of an arts project
Unit 2. Plan a project with clear aims and outcomes, organise people and resources, deliver it with a public showing, then review the project and your leadership of it using feedback from participants and audience
What happens outside lessons?
Outside the classroom, learners will need to engage in work experience opportunities to gain a more meaningful and specific understanding of working in the arts. They will also need to work alongside practitioners in the arts who will support and guide them through their development of their new art form.
To support learners in their Gold Arts Award, visits to museums and galleries have been organised, as have Higher Education talks at universities and taking part in full day workshops. Examples of recent workshops have included Graphics, Illustration, Games Art, Concept Art, and Interior Design. Upcoming visits and workshops include visiting MIMA for the Turner Prize 2026 exhibition, attending the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate, and a Sustainability in Fashion workshop.
“Arts Award is a brilliant programme that encourages you to fulfil your potential in both creative subjects and a number of other disciplines. I have really enjoyed the work so far as it offers a unique perspective on my work and my processes. I would really recommend it.”
Where can Gold Arts Award take you?
Many learners who are studying Gold Arts Award intend on careers in the arts, however those who are on a different career path intend to use their experience and qualification to support their higher level studies in subjects such as Engineering, Business and Business Management, and Forensic Science. In the long term, learners hope to use their new-found skills in employment, transferring these skills to feel better prepared for the workplace.
What subjects go well with Gold Arts Award?
Gold Arts Award is open to all learners, regardless of their subject or career interest, however, many do also study other creative arts A level subjects including 3D Design, Graphics, Fine art, Photography, Media studies, and Performing Arts. Current learners on Gold Arts Award also study Economics, English, Criminology, Psychology, Classics, Biology, Geography, Engineering, and Maths, finding Gold Arts Award pairs well with their other subjects to build creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, confidence in communicating, and independent learning.