Celebrating Specialist Arts Colleges and Artsmark schools

Step Up is the annual north west schools' arts festival.

From humble beginnings in 2002 (under its original name Celebrating Creativity), the event has grown into a multi-artform festival, of over a week in length.

It is a festival both 'of' and 'for' schools and strives to showcase the highest quality of work, alongside offering creaive development opportunities for pupils and teachers.

Step Up is based on the view that the north west needs a platform dedicated to the arts in schools. The intention is to develop a yearly festival that gives the clearest statment to the region and the rest of the country that our primary, secondary and special schools value the arts.

All participant schools are either Specialist Arts Colleges or hold an Arts Council Artsmark award and are situated in Cumbria, Cheshire, Greater Manchester Lancashire or Merseyside.

Step Up was initiated by The Bridgewater Hall Community Education Trust, Arts Council England, North West and Arts Learning North West.

Organisations and individuals that have been involved in Step Up include BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Evelyn Glennie, BBC Radio DJs Marc & Lard, Urbis and Ludus Dance.

'A marathon schools' arts festival’ Manchester Evening News

‘…a show that really teases out whether a child could do better than so-called pros’ City Life

‘An arts spectacular’ The Sentinel

‘The largest schools’ arts event in the region’ Lancaster Citizen

‘Clued-up kids’ City Life