BEHIND all the success that Worcestershire's education has enjoyed in recent years, there has been a silent, but dazzling, 'revolution'.

The county's GCSE and A-level pass rates have risen year-on-year above the national average and an excellent Ofsted report placed the LEA among the top five in the country.

And underpinning these improvements has been a remarkable transformation in the arts - now, arguably, Worcestershire schools' strongest suit.

Half of county schools have an Artsmark award for their excellence and commitment to art, music, dance and drama, making Worcestershire the country's top LEA in the field.

Stephen Belinfante, school inspector for the arts, has overseen the stellar rise like a proud father.

"Our results in the arts have improved every year for five years and nearly every high school now offers dance GCSE, which is pretty unusual," he said.

"All you have to do is look at the Cathedral exhibition at the moment, or at Malvern Theatre next week, to see the rising standards."

For those whose initial reaction is: 'That's nice, but is it the crux of a top quality education?', he continued to explain the wider impact, in what he calls the Heineken effect. "The arts refresh the parts that other subjects can't reach. It improves creativity, which students then take to other subjects," said Mr Belinfante.

"Through the arts, pupils become creative and independent learners - we are really quite revolutionary here in Worcestershire.

"If we just concentrated on data, performance tables, maths, science and English, we are not producing children equipped for learning in the 21st Century.

"The Government is coming round to the notion that we need creative learners."

The turnabout started seven years ago when Julien Kramer was appointed director of education and he, in turn, charged Mr Belinfante with driving up participation and achievement in the area of creative arts.

Since then, local artists and experts have visited schools, exhibitions and festivals have been established, two schools have gained specialist arts status and the county has even hosted national conferences on the subject.

And the Voices and Visions show - now on in Worcester Cathedral - and forthcoming drama displays in Malvern Theatres, from next week, serve a dual purpose.

"We hold these festivals every year to celebrate achievement and use it as a benchmark for people to judge improvements," added Mr Belinfante.

"It's difficult to know whether standards are rising from younger students so this allows people to see the work on display and judge where we are.

"Quite simply, we are taking the arts more seriously than other LEAs."

Aside from the creative streak the arts help develop in students - and the obvious fun and excitement they promote - music, dance and drama can offer more subtle benefits to pupils.

"The arts can help disaffected children become more involved in schools and can also be used to raise self-esteem and academic confidence," he said.

"We also have gifted and talented projects to cater for all abilities."

In short, children love the variety and energy in the arts, and if they enjoy school, they will excel.

However, Mr Belinfante is first to admit there is more to come and he himself still has hopes and targets to hit.

"What I really want is for all schools to have an Artsmark award in the next five years and perhaps one or two more specialist arts college."

For the 33 county schools who won Artsmark earlier this month, there will be a ceremony in Wolverhampton, on Friday.

And, in the immediate future, the creativity shows no sign of slowing up, with Liz Eyre, cabinet member for children's services, pledging to maintain investment.

In a county whose rich history includes Elgar's music, cathedral choirs and, more recently, the popular Malvern Theatres, there is clearly no need to change a winning formula.