On Monday 24 June 2019, the inaugural Arts Festival in a Day was held at Hucknall Sixth Form Centre with pupils and students grasping this amazing opportunity to show off their art, drama, dance and music to an audience of staff, external partners and their peers.

Children from primary and secondary academies in the Diverse Academies trust took part in the event creating a fabulous buzz throughout the centre. Our performers, artists and spectators were able to move freely around the centre, dropping in to see the scheduled performances from our talented students and making the most of the opportunity to immerse themselves in the arts for the day.

The performances ranged from rock music, to gymnastics, to shadow dances, cheerleading, art exhibitions, acting, drumming, and much more besides. The day showcased the range of brilliant creative talents that our children possess, and it was great to see so much support for each performance. The students took the opportunity to mix and speak with their peers from other academies and it was a great learning experience, sharing ideas and influences.

We were also delighted to welcome visiting performances from Nottingham College and our external partners Inspire and MLC, who were on hand to talk about the excellent work they have been doing with our pupils and students across our academies.

Thank you to our children for getting involved and showing off their creative talents, and to our staff for their support on the day and during rehearsals within their individual academies – thanks must also go to the team who organised the event. We hope that this festival becomes a fixture in the calendar for the future and look forward to watching it grow.