Well done to Zoe (Year 8) who has been crowned one of the winners of the national art competition ‘Spirited Arts’ held annually by the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education (NATRE). 

‘Spirited Arts’, now its 14th year, aims to get people thinking about Religious Education through Art. Since its launch, the competition has attracted over 300,000 participants from as far afield as Cyprus, Australia, Indonesia and South Africa. This year, over 1800 students participated. 

The competition starts at the beginning of every school year and runs till 31 July. Students complete a short unit of work at the end of the school year where they reflect on a religious or philosophical theme and create a piece of artwork based on their own research and learning. 

Zoe chose the theme ‘Standing Up For Good’ and created a painting about the Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc, who set himself on fire in 1963 to protest against the South Vietnamese government and their persecution of Buddhists. 

Judging took place over the summer by RE Today Adviser, Lat Blaylock, and students from Kings Norton Girls School.

Mr Barnett, Head of Religious Studies, said: “We are delighted that Zoe has been recognised as a winner. Her artwork was very creative and showed that she had really engaged with the topics studied, and that she had been inspired to do her own research beyond the curriculum. The students and I look forward to the Spirited Arts competition every year, because it provides an opportunity to think critically about current affairs and values, as well as providing a great platform for cross-curricular activity, combining subjects like Art, RE, Literacy and History.”

Lat Blaylock, said: “It’s a pleasure to see the entries every year because they show that children and young people are doing vital thinking about the big issues of beliefs and values through their school RE. Young people from 3-19 express themselves with astonishing depth and clarity. Well done to all students and teachers involved. When some people are cynical about the young and others think religion is out of date, I dare them to look at our web galleries of student art and remain unmoved.”

All the winners and some entries from 2017 can be found in the Spirited Arts gallery on the NATRE website.