Years 10s have presentation about The Arts subjects offered in the Diploma Programme | Aga Khan Academies

Years 10s have presentation about The Arts subjects offered in the Diploma Programme

15 May 2021

On 19 and 21 April 2021, Year 10 students at AKA Mombasa had a presentation about The Arts subjects offered in the Diploma Programme (DP). The session was led by the Academies’ Teacher Coach for The Arts, Antoinette Blaine, and was meant to give the Year 10s, who graduate the Middle Years Programme this May, insight into the various art subjects they could take in the DP.

Furthermore, Antoinette hoped to encourage students that taking subjects in The Arts could lead to many exciting and prosperous careers.

“Group 6: The Arts is the group of subjects in the DP that is not compulsory for students to select from,” Antoinette said. “Students don’t often see a clear pathway into university or even understand the value of the arts and creativity in general can bring to other areas of life. The objective of the presentation was to open their eyes to the many pathways in further study and careers.”

Academy Alumni Barbara Nasila - an architect by profession who has won a scholarship to pursue her Master’s degree at Yale, and Karishna Bhargani – an actor and theatre practitioner, also joined the presentation via Zoom to share their experiences and how they’ve gone on to have successful careers inspired by the arts.

For the students, the opportunity to interact with the Alumni was beneficial in informing them what subjects to choose from in The Arts as well as what to pursue professionally at university as the alumni also shed light on the various degrees and fields of study rooted in The Arts.

“The presentation opened my eyes about The Arts, which I find to be really interesting,” Njeri Michele said. “Creative careers are underappreciated in favour of typical white-collar jobs, but this class showed me that there are many advantages of taking The Arts in the DP.”

The Arts at the Academy, including visual arts and drama, aim to provide students a platform to be expressive, creative, and innovative. They also learn to appreciate their own works as well as those of others.