We are very excited, pleased and proud to announce that we have been awarded an

'Artsmark Silver Award'.

The journey for this award has been a long and challenging process which started before the first lockdown!

Here is some of the positive feedback received from the assessors:

'You developed an Artsmark Committee of key staff to take your developments forward, developing clear skills/knowledge progression in arts subjects.

Links have been made with Essex Music Hub, instrumental tuition and music performance opportunities have increased and you have become a Music Mark school. Art Week has broadened to Arts Week, in which poetry has been used to promote inclusivity and respect.

You adapted to the pandemic by moving some provision online and you shared online Art workshops across your MAT. CPD was likewise accessed digitally, and staff now feel more confident to incorporate the Arts in their teaching.

Your links to ROH have enhanced your understanding of equality and diversity and it is good that you have plans to further promote equality and diversity within your curriculum.

Given the difficulties you have faced, you have done very well to maintain an emerging momentum in the Arts.' 

4th November 2022

Welcome to our Artsmark journey

In the Spring / Summer 2019 Noak Bridge Primary school started the incredible journey to achieve an Artsmark award.

What is Artsmark?

A framework for teachers and school leaders to embed arts and cultural education across the whole curriculum. It is the only creative quality standard for schools and education settings, accredited by Arts Council England.

Artsmark supports settings to develop and celebrate their commitment to arts and cultural education.

This award is to recognise the quality of the provision for the arts within our school. The Artsmark awards: silver, gold and platinum levels for achievement - and we are aiming high! 

Follow our Artsmark page to stay up to date on all our projects across the two years.

Silver Award

On the 18th May 2022, Shaun Badham shared the final update regarding the 'Radion Project' and the installation of our pupils' artwork on the exterior walls of the new cinema in Basildon.

'I just wanted to share the great news that the screen with your students leaves has finally been installed. The installation team are just finishing off some final touches such as the information panel, but it is basically there.

 The area where the screen is located is currently still cordoned off but as soon as it is open to the public, I will let you know.

 I attach a photograph of the nature and heritage side of the screen, though due to its length, it is actually difficult to capture it in one photograph. But below is a link to a video of myself walking past it, which gives you a closer look.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I0CrPbiV-cpKYW6yEVJEsIfnhnRNsgwg/view?usp=sharing

 I also attach a nature map, which shows you exactly where your students leaves can be located on the screen, which will help yourself and your students find them. I have physical copies of this attached map, which I can give to you, either at the mini launch (date tbc) of the screen this summer, or drop them off at your school.'

It is amazing that our pupils artwork will be part of Basildon for many years to come.

Radion project update

Local artist Shaun Badham, regularly updates Noak Bridge on the progress of the artwork for the new cinema in Basildon, which we contributed to and children will be able to see their leaf rubbings (frottage) in their local town!

Message from Shaun:

'I just wanted to send over what will hopefully be one final update before the final screen is completed.

I recently received new images from the fabricator who has started producing the full size panels, which you can see in the images attached, the quality and colour is looking really good, which is good news, so hopefully students will be able to find their leaves easily enough. Though to help with this, we will still be making a map so each school knows where there leaves are roughly located.

The current timeline is that the final screen will be complete by mid April, which I will of course let you know about.'

Rock Steady Concert

On Thursday 9th December the Rock Steady bands performed to their families to show their progress over the autumn term.

Author Visit - Grant Strong

To help promote a love of reading and writing, we arranged to have a real-life author visit our school and talk about what it’s like to write and publish books!

Grant Strong visited us on Monday 15^th November and gave an illuminating assembly on what it is like to be an author. Grant spoke about his inspiration for story writing and shared lots of amusing stories with the children. Pupils had the opportunity to meet him and purchase his books, ensuring they received a signed, personalised copy!

Our KS2 classes were then fortunate to have a planning session in their classrooms with Grant. He talked about the importance of planning a story and the different aspects involved. The children then each had a turn at planning their own stories!

The children thoroughly enjoyed their time with Grant and it was very beneficial for them to talk to someone who has been so successful.

Update from the Radion Project and artist Shaun Badham - July 2021

We have been busy scanning all your lovely students leaves that you produced last year as part of the Radion project. We recently got a very small sample section of the screen made, the leaves already look really vibrant, which we are excited about.

We wanted to make sure all schools are credited properly as it is your student's work which has made this piece happen. Below is an information panel with a text which will sit beside the screen.

Once the screen is complete we will be giving you a free downloadable map, so yourselves and your children know where your schools leaves are located on the screen. Will be fun for the kids to try and find their own personal leaf.

Some children in Year 5 wrote the instructions for and held a Mad Hatters Tea Party. They had tea, sandwiches, cake and were kind enough to pour a cup of tea, for some teachers, from the huge teapot! 

A GCSE Music student, currently studying for grade 7, at Westcliff High School for Girls has volunteered to teach drumming 1:1 with some pupils in Year 4. The children have really enjoyed the lessons and made excellent progress!

FUSION Art Project

During the national lockdown in the Spring term 2021 we organised some art workshops led by artist Ingrid Anderson. To showcase the artwork from across our MAT schools we created Padlet pages for children to upload their work as they completed them. You can view the amazing artwork too, just click on the links below:

https://padlet.com/sen99/93wd29mjfrwusvy4 - Ted Harrison

https://padlet.com/sen99/j1m6suscj0nkxyd0 - Wassily Kandinsky

https://padlet.com/sen99/jc005hiqgbpz4w0e - Fusion workshop, combining the 2 styles of art

FUSION ART

Delivered by Artist Ingrid Anderson

The project will aim to advance the skills of pupils gifted in art. They will learn about the styles of Ted Harrison and Wassily Kandinsky then merge the two styles to create their own.

Each session pupils will learn skills techniques to help them create the style. In the last session pupils will select the techniques they will need to achieve their own effects.

Session 1 (25.02.21): Ted Harrison

Create a Ted Harrison landscape using his colours and shapes

Instruction: Colour, shape, composition, flat wash and layering tone washes

Session 2 (04.02.21): Wassily Kandinsky

Create a Wassily Kandinsky design

Instruction: Colour, shape, composition, colour blends, layering tone washes, wet in wet colour application

Session 3 (25.03.21): Fusion Art

Fuse the styles of Ted Harrison and Wassily Kandinsky to create a brand new design.

Pupils will be encouraged to consider their colours, lines, shapes and composition.

Pupils create the final artwork using and will work onto A3 watercolour paper.

UPDATE FOR THE RADION PROJECT!

Local artist Shaun wanted to get back in touch, to let us know they  have scanned all of our pupils' leaves. He said 'I really love the textures, colour and paper choices your students made. We are currently finalising the current nature side design, rather than allocating each school a panel, we are going to dedicate certain trees and bushes to each school, these seemed a bit more organic and less formal than a panel. We will supply the school with a map, identifying which ones are your students.' 

It is so exciting to be part of this project and to see our art work becoming a permanent feature of the new cinema in Basildon town centre! Can you find your leaf?

Year 4 learning to play the ukulele!

The children are fantastic, and we hope you smile as much as we did when watching them learn.

Radion Project 

Shaun and Phillipa, local artists, are working to create a new public art sculpture on the side of the new cinema in Basildon Town Centre. They aim to involve different generations, age groups, and local schools within the project. This week, the week beginning 16th November, Noak Bridge Primary School have created leaf rubbings (frottage) to be included in the mural, every child has created a leaf image.

The art workshop activity included: 

• an introduction to the new cinema and what a lenticular screen is.
• Identifying why nature in the borough is important and what we can do to look after it and what role public art can play in this.
• Working with lots of schools – idea of collaboration, working as a group.
• The design of the mural so far and how your students leaf will be the key feature.
• Art History – David Hockney vs Vincent Van Gogh
• What is frottage and how to do it – Demo.
• Identifying leaves with leaf identification card.

For more images view our Gallery

Our Summer Arts Celebration 2019

During our 'Open Evening' we showcased our artwork created during Arts Week. The focus was 'sculpture' and children looked at works created by Giacometti, Dale Chihuly and Alexander Calder. The children worked in a range of media to explore structure, joining methods and aesthetics which may have been linked to their summer learning. 

Basildon at 70 Celebration Art Exhibition

Towngate Theatre

Noak Bridge's talented artists have showcased the amazing work they created in the Master classes with Local Artist Mrs. Anderson.

Children from Noak Bridge were joined by children from Rydene Primary, Lee Chapel Primary, Phoenix Primary and St. Teresa's catholic Primary.

Ryedene Primary School partnered with Basildon Council to organise and curate this incredible event, which also hosted work from Signals Media and the Children's Support Services.