THE first Artsmark gold award to be presented to a primary school in Hertfordshire has been given to The Grove Infant and Nursery School in Harpenden.

The school was awarded the highest accolade by the Arts Council of England on May 31.

The Artsmark award is given to schools to recognise outstanding commitment to the arts and is thought of as a benchmark of excellence for arts provision.

Headteacher of the school in Dark Lane, Harpenden, Mrs Sandra Bird said: "I am delighted that the Arts Council has recognised our progressive approach to arts education.

"We provide exceptional opportunities from drama to music, design to literature, dance to sculpture, not only in lessons but out of school hours as well. "

This year Hertfordshire gained one third of the total amount of awards given to schools. As well as The Grove, 15 secondary schools in the county received gold, silver or basic awards from the Arts Council.

In the St Albans and Harpenden district, Roundwood Park and Sandringham secondary schools achieved gold awards and Townsend Church of England School was awarded silver status.

Ms Aileen Muir of East England Arts said: "We are delighted at the high proportion of awards gained by schools in the region, particularly Hertfordshire.

"These awards are are symbolic of the importance of the arts in education for our region's schools.

"We are pleased to be working with the Arts Council of England on this scheme."

Mr Peter Hewitt, chief executive of the Arts Council said: "The Artsmark award symbolises the importance of the arts in education.

"It rewards excellence, endorses good practice and demonstrates that schools are concerned not only with academic success but with the wider development of young people."

A total of 566 schools nationwide have been awarded the Artsmark and representatives from the winning schools were invited to an award ceremony in Cambridge on Monday.

Details of how schools may apply for the next round of awards are available on <www.artsmark.org.uk> or by calling the Artsmark helpline on 0800 0560 196.

June 11, 2002 13:00