Thanks to the generosity of one of our adult Art History students, a new school prize has been introduced to recognise outstanding achievement in Art History. Dr Janice Johnson has kindly offered to fund the book prizes to help recognise boys who have been particularly enthusiastic and engaged during lessons.
We are delighted to announce the first results for this prize:
- 1st Prize – Christian Tyrell
- 2nd prize – James Lumley-Wood
- Highly commended – Olly Quince and Barnaby Williams
The boys were deemed by their Art History teacher, Miss Bacon, to be those who had contributed most to class discussions, articulating thoughts and ideas about the artworks they have been looking at.
Christian, for example, has independently visited art galleries and museums to see many of the works discussed in his lessons and then shared his findings and opinions with the rest of the class.
Christian, who plans to read Art History and English when he goes to university in September, explained, “Winning the prize means a lot to me as Art History is something that I have a large passion for, which I only discovered a couple of years ago. Before this, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do or have a ‘special thing’ but, after signing up, I realised that Art History is that for me and is what I want to do in the future. Winning the prize has given me a real sense of accomplishment and confidence in my abilities, as well as the opportunity to represent myself in front of the school.”
He went on to say, “I am honoured that I was chosen to be the first recipient, and grateful to Dr Janice Johnson for funding the award.”
Art History is open to all boys to attend; you do not have to be studying GCSE, A-Level or IB Art as a subject to come along. Hopefully, this prize will be another incentive for boys to attend. This year, we also had a number of girls from Bedford Girls’ School attend.
Dr Johnson is a parent of a former pupil, and has been attending the after-school adult Art History lessons for the last few years. She has so enjoyed the class that she was inspired to sponsor an annual prize to encourage more pupils to attend and discover the same passion.
Director of Art, Michael Croker, commented, “We are extremely grateful to Dr Johnson for supporting this prize, which recognises just how important Art History is as a subject and a discipline in its own right.”