Year 11 Artists Take on London

Five art galleries, a West End show, an overnight stay, a morning drawing lesson by the Thames, a visit to Covent Garden, unlimited pizza and a guided tour of London: this year’s GCSE Art Trip gave our Year 11 artists two unforgettable days in the capital.

Pupils worked in sketchbooks using a booklet designed by the Art Department to guide them through each gallery, and their sketches and creative responses were stunning. Art staff toured the V&A, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and both Tate galleries with the group, pointing out the must-see highlights and encouraging pupils to look closely, ask questions and develop their own ideas.

After a pizza dinner, the group headed to the Vaudeville Theatre for the evening performance of Six, an entertaining history lesson on Henry VIII’s wives that the History Department would have been proud of.

Trips like this show what learning at Truro School looks like. In our close-knit and supportive community, staff know every pupil well, from the confident to the quietly creative, and they invest the time to understand how each young person thinks and what they need to thrive. This is the foundation of our approach to our Know, Challenge, Inspire ethos. Staff know their pupils as individuals, challenge them to look more deeply and aim higher, and inspire them by opening up the wider world, whether that is the National Gallery or a morning sketch beside the Thames.

This dynamic, personalised approach continues from GCSES into our Sixth Form, where specialist teachers, small-group support, and enrichment opportunities beyond the classroom support our Art and Design A-Level students. This is why Truro School remains the leading provider for A-Level results in Cornwall and why our ALPS (added value for A-Level) scores put us firmly in the top 10% nationally.

It is always a pleasure to see our pupils exploring and immersing themselves in new artistic inspiration. We look forward to seeing how this experience shows in their practical work this year.