Students across the Co-op Academies Trust’s 27 schools in the north of England came together to celebrate creativity at the annual Art Exhibition.

This week 13 academies took part in our Art Exhibition 2021-22 showcasing 122 works of students from across the trust, a true celebration of creativity. Students from Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) to Year 11 submitted pieces to our virtual exhibition. 

The exhibition was the idea of Ms. Caroline Wright, Head of Art at Co-op Academy Manchester and Specialist Leader in Education in Art for the Trust. The first event followed the series of lockdowns in 2021 and was so successful it was made into an annual celebration, the restrictions at the time are what inspired it to be entirely digital. This year 299 photos were taken, edited and watermarked for the occasion. 

Caroline said of the event; 

“The exhibition was born out of a desire to celebrate the superb standard of creative work that is produced across the academies and the amazing and hard work that the staff and students put into the Arts, every year. It is also great to have the opportunity to share works of art across the different academies and involve the entire Trust as it gives both colleagues and students the opportunity to see artwork that they might not see.”

Chris Tomlinson, CEO of Co-op Academies Trust is a huge advocate for the arts, he said 

“The standard of Art is improving every year which is great to see. The themes are so powerful that the pupils’ expression makes art a fantastic subject to do with many benefits. A big thank you to all the Art teachers including Caroline Wright for putting the exhibition together and a huge well done to the students; an excellent effort.”

Chris has selected his favourite pieces from the exhibition to share with you below. In Years 10 and 11 we have an amazing collection of art but as it’s part of their current GCSE assessment we can’t include it in a public gallery. Thank you to all who made this event possible, and we are already looking forward to next year!