Royal Academy of Arts

In a fantastic achievement we are proud and delighted to announce that Y13 student, Grace Rogers has been selected to showcase her work as part of the Royal Academy of Arts Young Artists’ Summer show 2025. This is the second consecutive year that Grace has been selected.

Now in its seventh year, the Young Artists’ Summer Show is a free, open submission exhibition for students aged 4–18 studying in the UK. Artworks are judged by a panel of artists and arts professionals, with selected artworks displayed online and on-site at the Royal Academy of Arts. The Academy received over 23,000 submissions this year and were blown away by all the entries.

Grace’s arresting painting, titled ‘Cleaning Up Nice’, is her outcome to the theme ‘The Everyday and Absurd.’ Her work explores that it is “only natural that everyone has at some point been burdened by routine, even in inconvenient situations, because things must be done no matter how mind numbingly mundane they are.”

Speaking about the second-time achievement, Grace said that she was surprised at being selected again but very proud. This piece is her favourite creation so far and took over 70 hours to complete. Grace is hoping to continue her art skills to degree level, and has a conditional offer from Newcastle University to study Fine Art after leaving sixth form.

Durham Sixth Form Centre is extremely proud of Grace’s achievement and congratulates her on this well-deserved honour. Her success not only reflects her individual talent but also highlights the vibrant arts community flourishing within our academy, recently re-designated an Artsmark Platinum provider by Arts Council England.