My name is Connor and I attend Victoria Education Centre. So far I have completed my Bronze and Silver Arts Award and have started my Gold this year. I have done the Shakespeare Challenge, as well as filming and acting. The best thing about Arts Award is that it shows there are a lot more things out there to do than just play sports all the time.

As part of my Arts Award studies I have been to The Globe and to see War Horse, both of which were amazing. I have also learnt about different artists and organisations, my favourite of which was David Walliams because he has had a really diverse and interesting career.

The thing that I have found really inspiring was leading the workshops and seeing how younger students reacted and responded to what I was sharing and how much they enjoyed it and learned new things. For my Silver I ran workshops for Bronze Arts Award students teaching them about filming and editing, which I really enjoyed.

The most challenging part has been going on stage with all the nerves that it brings out, but it has improved my self-confidence hugely and I have found that getting things every week that I never expected has been amazing. I am now looking into a possible career in the arts and have just joined Extraordinary Bodies, a performance company outside school to extend my experiences and opportunities.

I got involved in Arts Award because it was on our school timetable every week for students from Key stage 3 up to Post 16, and every year they do a different project where we get to choose different things to learn. My Arts Award Advisors Annie and Belinda have given me the most help and inspiration to keep working on this and I am looking forwards to finishing my Gold opinion piece to be able to share it with others.