The spirit of creativity and collaboration came alive on the evening of Wednesday 25 June as pupils from schools belonging to York-based Excel Learning Trust, gathered to celebrate the arts at the Trust’s annual ArtsFest.
Families and friends of the pupils were treated to an enchanting evening of ‘Music from the Movies,’ featuring art, song, dance, and live music at York University’s Central Hall. After spending the day in workshops and rehearsals, the children from six Excel schools joined together for an incredible show where they celebrated each other’s artistic achievements.
For the first time this year, the Excel Learning Trust Choir, which was formed at the end of last year, took to the stage, performing The Greatest Show and Never Enough from The Greatest Showman. The choir is made up of pupils from across the Trust, who first performed together last Christmas.
During the evening, secondary students from Millthorpe and York High Schools treated the audience to a showcase from their school productions, Matilda and Grease, followed by the Millthorpe Band and the York High Rock Band and Soul Bands performing numbers including Let It Go from Frozen, Valerie and Feel it still. Portugal. The Man. from The Guardians of the Galaxy.
Performers from Knavesmire Primary rocked the venue with medleys from School of Rock and Hairspray, whilst children from Woodthorpe Primary roused the crowd with their performances of My Brother from Mufasa, I’m Still Standing from Sing and Annie’s Hard Knock Life. Musicians from Scarcroft Primary School belted out an incredible rendition of I don’t wanna miss a thing from Armageddon, whilst their dancers later performed to a Barbie track and their drummers performed a showcase entitled Welcome to the Movies.
Dancers from Carr Junior School brought Abba-mania to the stage with their Mamma Mia medley, and their musicians and choir rocked out Eye of the Tiger from Rocky and a Moana mashup.
The grand finale of ArtsFest saw pupils from all six schools take to the stage for a mass, feelgood performance of You Can’t Stop the Beat from the musical Hairspray.
The event was compered by sponsors York Mix who made sure the evening went off with a bang. This year’s event was also generously supported by creative partners including the Richard Shephard Music Foundation, York Music Hub, Kinesis Dance, Rocksteady Music School and Union of Dance, whose involvement leading up to the event and on the evening, was vital in shaping the exceptional quality of the festival.
Artwork by pupils from all seven Excel schools was also showcased at the venue and will then move to a public exhibition in City Screen, York from 7-18 July which is open to all.
Clare Hardy, Excel’s Associate Director of Personal Development and event organiser said: “What a fantastic evening! I’m so proud of everyone who took part, not only for their amazing effort on the night, but also for their hard work and commitment in the lead up to ArtsFest. At Excel Learning Trust, we have a strong focus on collaboration and community, so ArtsFest gives us the perfect opportunity to bring our family of schools together for an evening of performance and fun. Huge thanks go to those colleagues in all our schools who have worked so hard to get the children ready for show night, our supporters and partners who made the evening possible, and of course, our pupils who were the stars of the show.”
Chief Executive of Excel Learning Trust, Mark Hassack said “ArtsFest is such a joyous occasion which just seems to get better each year. We have some incredible talent in our schools, and this event provides the perfect opportunity for them to shine, showcase their creativity and come together with pupils from our other schools to take part in a truly collaborative event. I’m immensely proud of everyone who took part.
“ArtsFest requires a huge amount of planning, organising and rehearsing, so a big thank you to everyone who played a part and to everyone who came along to support on the evening.”
Excel Learning Trust is made up of a group of seven schools – Millthorpe School, York High School, Carr Junior School, Knavesmire, Scarcroft and Woodthorpe Primary Schools and Inspire Academy.
27 June 2025
