A SCHOOL has reason to celebrate after being singled out for its achievements in the arts.

Thirsk School has been awarded the Artsmark Gold Standard by the Arts Council in recognition of its commitment to arts education.

The Arts Council praised the school for its dramatic and musical performances and noted the success of the taught curriculum and the programme of learning outside school hours.

Headmaster Chris Lewis said: "The arts are part of the corporate identity of the school, and I'm delighted the commitment of the staff has been recognised."

As if to prove the Arts Council's point, students from the school have been showing that they can paint with the best.

Fifteen of them had their GCSE art work chosen to go on display at the Zillah Bell Gallery, in the town, as part of Thirsk Festival.

All the pieces were on the exam theme of inside and outside and were described as outstanding in the range of diversity of interpretation.

Gallery owner John Bell said of the show: "The artists deserve to be proud of its consistent quality."

The students who exhibited were: Carole Beachill, Emilie Pattison, Craig Goult, Rachel Sewell, Christopher Kendall, Jennifer Donald, Michelle Har-ker, James Broadwith, Jenny O'Neill, Lucinda Kirby, Catherine MacCleod, Hannah Chapman, Sorrel Hoare, Kate Oldershaw and Miriam Terzich.