Wonderful Outreach Workshops

It has been a very busy term for outreach this year. Before half term, Aliyah paid a visit to Christ Church Primary School as part of her role as Birmingham’s Young Poet Laureate to celebrate National Poetry Day 2019. After performing some of her poems, she then answered the children’s questions and gave them advice on where to start with writing and performing their own poetry. It was great to see the children’s enthusiasm and it was a highly enjoyable morning for everyone involved. Last term, Scarlett, also ran a three week Poetry Workshop at Bluecoat School for year 4 pupils. Scarlett’s lessons primarily focused on giving the children an overview of some poetic techniques, from various uses and types of imagery, to analysing their favourite poems. The children were able to test their knowledge in a fun treasure hunt, matching up techniques to definitions. Many of them were eager to share their poems at the end of the workshops. Scarlett really enjoyed the experience and hopes to return in the summer for a third round of poetry workshops. This term’s Friday Afternoon ‘Music Makers’ sessions are also well underway, providing musical workshops based on Michael Rosen’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt for primary age pupils. The children have worked with five of our Sixth Form students and created their own music to accompany the story, thinking carefully about timbre, dynamics, texture and rhythms. They have also had the opportunity to hear our students performing. It has been wonderful to see the sheer delight on the pupils’ faces, especially when hearing the bassoon for the first time! Congratulations to Tara, Izzy, Nikita, Angie and Sanjana for devising this inspiring workshop and for presenting it in such a sensitive way.