PUPILS from a Wrexham primary school have had their artwork displayed at a world renowned national gallery.

In total, 32 schools from across Wales, including pupils from Ysgol Acrefair, went to London to show off their school work at a Tate Exchange event at the Tate Modern.

The event, ‘Five Creative Habits of Mind’ was celebrating the success of a new pupil-led creative learning programme, Lead Creative Schools Scheme, which is putting creativity at the heart of education in Wales.

Lead Creative Schools scheme is underway in 548 schools in Wales, and has so far reached more than 40,000 pupils.

The unique scheme has transformed teaching methods across the curriculum by using creative techniques to improve academic achievement and install essential life-skills in pupils in Wales’ primary, secondary and special schools.

The scheme is part of the Welsh Government and Arts Council of Wales joint funded £20 million programme creative learning through the arts – an action plan for Wales 2015-2020 and is expected to form part of the 2020 new school curriculum.

Tate Exchange is an ambitious ‘open experiment’ which allows organisations and members of the public to participate in Tate’s creative process, running events and projects on site and using art as a way of addressing wider issues in the world around us.

The event brought to life the positive impact this scheme has had on schools, teachers, pupils and the artists involved.

Visitors were taken on a journey through the ‘Five Creative Habits of Mind’ – imagination, inquisitiveness, discipline, persistence and collaboration, which are the five teaching methods that underpin this programme.

Welsh Government cabinet secretary for education, Kirsty Williams, said: “Reducing the attainment gap between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers is at the heart of our national mission to raise standards and is also one of the driving principles behind this programme.

“There’s no better showcase for the programme’s excellent work than the Tate Modern. This is testament to how well schools, teachers and learners have embraced these learning methods and I want to congratulate everyone involved.

“We are already starting to see the results of our investment, which is changing how we view the arts and creativity in relation to the school curriculum while also improving academic achievement, broadening experience and developing crucial life skills”.

The scheme has involved matching schools with creative professionals who use teaching and learning techniques that are specifically designed to be practical and relevant to real-life curriculum demands, and provide new ways for young people to engage with subjects, developing increased motivation for learning.