Spirited Arts Competition

Spirited Arts is a long-running cross-curricular competition organised by the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education, with RE Today providing management support. Now in its 23rd year, the programme has attracted hundreds of thousands of entries and reached schools well beyond the UK. Its significance is not based on a narrow academic ranking. The competition gives pupils a way to explore religious education, belief, spirituality and big human questions through art, writing, music, drama or digital media. That breadth is also the reason the competition should not be treated as a general art contest with a religious label added afterwards. Each entry needs to respond meaningfully to one of the set themes and include a commentary of up to 400 words. Judges are looking for work that is original, well-crafted and genuinely strong in religious education. A beautiful image without a thoughtful connection to the question may therefore be less successful than a modestly produced piece that communicates a precise insight. The school-based structure is central to the experience. Pupils can work individually, in pairs, groups, classes or wider school communities, while each school selects up to ten entries for submission. This makes Spirited Arts useful for a RE unit, an arts week or a project that brings together students with different strengths. It also means families should understand that entry is usually organised through the school rather than as a private individual submission. We rate Spirited Arts at Advanced Level. The creative formats are flexible, but the competition expects a mature relationship between artistic choices, religious understanding and written explanation, and the school must select a limited number of entries. It is particularly suitable for students who enjoy art, theology, philosophy, literature, ethics or cultural studies and want to express ideas through more than one medium.