Schools’ Outreach Programme

The outreach programme of the Broadway Arts Festival is our opportunity to connect with young people giving them direct access to professional artists, new experiences and expert tuition. 

Thanks to the generous support of our Festival Benefactors and the continuing success of the festival, 2022 saw a significant expansion of the outreach programme to include not only the two Broadway Primary Schools but also Chipping Campden Secondary School and Prince Henry’s High School, Evesham. In consultation with the teachers we organise and fund creative and performing arts activities and workshops all year round reaching over 1000 school children and teenagers in the area.

Professional artists bring something extraordinary into the classroom, offering high quality creative experiences that can unlock new ideas and interests. The arts have the capacity to lift the spirits and engage; they leave us feeling free, refreshed, and optimistic. These days, particularly for the children of the pandemic, that’s the holy grail everyone is after.

Magic Lantern Educational Charity

Throwing a pot with Honeybourne Pottery – July 2022

2023

The schools’ outreach programme for 2023 is already well underway:-

  • Early in November the festival arranged and financed a trip for Prince Henry’s A-level theatre studies students to see Frantic Assembly’s award-winning and electrifying Othello at the Oxford Playhouse  (Read their review of the experience).
  • In the same month, St Mary’s primary school (who discovered 30 ukuleles gathering dust in a cupboard) were visited by Tara from Thelondonukuleleproject. The children loved “having an instrument each the whole time, and not having to share! “and after their workshops, each class performed as a ukulele band in front of the rest of the school. The school now employ a local ukulele teacher to tutor the Y5/6 class every week.
  • In January every child from St Mary’s and Broadway First took part in musical theatre workshops with Emma from The Star Project learning songs and choreography from Matilda the Musical and Mary Poppins. They left the premises singing and dancing to “Revolting Children”, “Naughty,” and “When I grow up” and “a Spoonful of Sugar” after sharing their scenes with each other and the staff.
  • Having taken 55 GCSE drama and A-level theatre Studies students from Chipping Campden to Warwick Arts Centre in November to see a production of Gecko’s “Kin”, we arranged for Miguel, one of the company performers, to lead physical theatre workshops on the production and the company’s devising techniques.

Movement Director Steve Kirkham from Frantic Assembly with A level Dance & Drama  students at Chipping Campden School

In 2022, all four schools pulsed to the energetic rhythms of Brazil’s Rio Carnival with fast & furious samba drumming workshops led by musician and band director David Walter. In Chipping Campden this workshop was delivered to 150 students as part of their Y8 music scheme of work on samba rhythm. 

In the spring term, theatre practitioners Playbox and Divergent Theatre took every primary school pupil beneath the surface of their curriculum with tailor-made activities to bring their topics to life, while internationally renowned Frantic Assembly shared their physical approach to devising with 40 A-level theatre studies and dance students from Chipping Campden and Prince Henry’s.

Our Artist in Residence Nick Logan, conducted a masterclass in portraiture for A level art students at Prince Henry’s, and Honeybourne Pottery led Potter’s Wheel taster sessions for year 7 gifted and talented students at Chipping Campden.

  • Other projects planned for this year include the return of David Walter’s Olasamba to lead Rio Carnival style samba drumming sessions for KS3 in both secondary schools as part of their music curriculum, Honeybourne Pottery will teach Potters wheel taster sessions to Y7 students at Chipping Campden and Y12 art students at Prince Henry’s, and art historian Lizzy Rowe from Magic Lantern will be inspiring GCSE art and textile students from Prince Henry’s  with illustrated talks designed to help kick-start the students’ ideas for their Y10 creative projects. We are also in the process of finding professional artists and graffiti specialists to help paint a mural on every school site.

If you would like to support our outreach work, please consider becoming a benefactor. Applications for 2023 are now open.

Samba Drumming at Prince Henry’s High School Evesham

Throwing a pot with Honeybourne Pottery at Chipping Campden School

During festival week 2021 performance poet Joshua Seigal had every class in the two primary schools enthralled with his comedic word-wizardry and showed the children how to create and recite their own poems. The children also became art detectives under the guidance of art historian Lizzy Rowe from Magic Lantern who transformed their classrooms into a pop-up art gallery, sharing stories and jaw-dropping facts about artists – from Vincent Van Gogh to Banksy – and discussing how to interpret their work. Completing the week’s activities, internationally renowned painter and colourist Antonia Black encouraged the younger children to paint with joyful abandon and amazed KS2 by painting a still life display, from scratch, in an hour, whilst recounting a lifetime of globetrotting adventures and answering questions. Antonia kindly signed and gifted her paintings to the schools.

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent

Broadway Platinum Jubilee

As part of the Broadway Jubilee celebrations, the primary school children decorated paper lanterns supplied by Broadway Arts Festival using the colours and images from the famous John Singer Sargent painting Carnation Lily, Lily, Rose painted in the grounds of Russell House, Broadway in the late 19th century. The schools joined other organisations in Broadway village to lead a once-in-a-lifetime Platinum Jubilee Parade down the High Street carrying their LED-lit lanterns.

The children were given a lively and engaging talk about the world famous Sargent painting by art historian Karen Bloch when they were handed their lanterns to decorate at school.

If you would like to support our outreach work, please consider becoming a benefactor, applications for 2022 are now open.

The children of Broadway parading with their decorated paper lanterns leading the procession down the High Street