Glasgow School of Art – partner to public services

Glasgow School of Art’s partnership with Castlehead High School in Paisley, supports pupils from S1-S6 to benefit from learning through creativity. The school’s annual Creativity Week in May sees more than 85% of S1-3 pupils participate in a range of creative workshops or lessons with artists, GSA tutors, teachers from across the school curriculum and representatives from industry. The workshops cover areas such as designing a theme park, fine art to poetry, jewelry making, engineering and architecture.

In addition to the annual Creativity Week, GSA tutors pay regular visits to the school to work on design-related projects with the pupils, who also receive regular trips to the art school to learn from GSA tutors in a studio-based environment. The Castlehead and GSA partnership was first formed in 2017, involving Renfrewshire Council.  It was inspired by research showing that learning through arts and culture can improve life skills and attainment across all subjects. It is designed to unlock potential in pupils, encourage innovative thinking, increase attainment and develop skills needed to thrive not just at school and work but in broader society.