AN ART exhibition showcasing the work of almost 50 GCSE students culminated in an open evening attended by family and friends to celebrate their talent.

After months of hard work every student studying art, digital photography or 3D at Ysgol Y Grango exhibited their final pieces at The Stiwt theatre in Rhos.

The final pieces, together with a coursework portfolio and exam portfolio, form 100 per cent of the students’ GCSE grade.

Students had free reign for their themes and final pieces for the coursework component, choosing their own subject matter to express their individuality. For the exam portfolio and exam final pieces, they followed a set brief and were given a choice of 15 lines of enquiry.

The exhibition, which ran over a four-week period, attracted much interest from the local community.

It is the first time that the Rhos school has held an external exhibition and Sue Jones, faculty team leader for Art and Design Technology, is delighted with the response.

She said: “As a school we work very closely with the local community. When we approached The Stiwt about the possibility of exhibiting the students’ artwork they were more than happy to accommodate us.

“This year we have offered three courses instead of two, with 3D being new to the school.

“All the students have performed well and created individual artworks that they should be extremely proud of. Each student has their own talents and character which has been portrayed through their artwork.

“Having an opportunity to showcase their work to a wider audience is fantastic and we are grateful to The Stiwt for giving them that chance.

“The open evening has been a lovely way for the students to share this experience with their families, it has been a wonderful night.”

“The students have been a pleasure to teach and many are going on to college to study art and design or photography at A-level or BTEC. We wish them all the very best for the future.”

Headteacher Steve Garthwaite said: “We at Ysgol Y Grango recognise the importance of the arts in education and the part it plays in enriching all our lives. Our aim is to give all our students every opportunity to develop their creativity and, by expanding our provision with the introduction of the 3D course, students now have even greater scope to do this.

“I am very impressed with the exhibition, it is amazing! The variety and high standard of the students’ work is excellent, and I am very proud of all that they have achieved.”

Sioned Riffel’s interest in art grew after taking it as an option in Year 9 and she is now looking forward to studying the subject at A-level alongside media in September, with a view to studying fine art at university.

The 16-year-old said: “Our teacher, Miss Jones, has helped us so much. I’ve done a lot of research into different forms of art and Miss Jones always has a huge variety of art on the walls which has been a great inspiration for me.”

Sioned’s mum, Vicky Riffel, said: “We are so proud of Sioned and the incredible work she has created. Her teacher is fantastic and has encouraged her from the beginning, as she has with all the students.”

Faith Dodd, 16, whose artwork is inspired by many family holidays to Florida, is also considering art as a career and is taking Art, Politics, History and Media A-levels at Coleg Cambria in September.

She said: “I have so many good memories of visiting Disneyland and wanted to explore those memories in my work, using the Disney castle for the theme of ‘refuge’.”