This year’s final was held just before half-term when national finalists and overall winners were unveiled.
Arts and Minds is run by the NASUWT with support from a range of organisations including the Anne Frank Trust, Unite Against Facism, Love Music Hate Racism, and SecEd.
The competition asks students from primary, secondary and special schools to produce a piece of creative writing or artwork tackling themes of racism and prejudice and celebrating diversity and equality.
There were 13 finalists this year and the overall winners were selected by television presenter Gok Wan.
In the secondary school category, the winners was Class S3 from Inverclyde Academy. Their work – Diversity Rug – featured hundreds of strips of fabric printed with powerful words about diversity bound together (see image above).
In the special school category, the overall winner was Brendan Woods, a year 10 student from the Pheonix Academy Trust in Lincolnshire, who composed a piece of verse entitled Rap Init highlighting forms of hate and their consequences, including racism and homophobia.
The competition also includes an Anne Frank Poetry Award, which is given to the best piece of writing inspired by the diary of Anne Frank. This year’s winner was Anai Ganatra, a year 8 student from the Henrietta Barnett School in London.
She wrote: “Suddenly all you have ever known. Is ripped away, you are left, all on your own. Your life used to be full of possibilities and hope. Now all it is, is a bitter, cruel joke.”
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: “Congratulations to all this years’ winners, and shortlisted finalists, the quality of work they all produced was outstanding, and they should all be proud at not just the artistic talent they have displayed, but also how their pieces really inspire and make the audience stop and think about these very important issues.”
Alongside the overall winner, there were five finalists in the secondary category: Nikita Bavisha, Henrietta Barnett School, London; Joanna Fang, also from Henrietta Barnett; Mattea Tettey-Enyon, King Edward VI High School for Girls, Birmingham; students from Ercall Wood Technology College, Telford; students from Fivemiletown College & St Ciaran’s College, Northern Ireland.
There were two special school finalists: students from the Progress Unit at Conisborough College, London; Curtis Roberts from St Christopher’s High, Wrexham.
The primary school winner was Matthew Hill from Mepal and Witcham Primary School for his poem A Dream, inspired by Martin Luther King’s famous address.
The overall winning schools receive £1,000 (£350 for shortlisted finalists), and every young person in the finals received a gift voucher.
- Watch Gok Wan choosing the overall winners in the 2017 Arts and Minds Awards at http://bit.ly/2gKJBlk and for more details and images from the finals, visit http://bit.ly/2iANkTi