In 2024, our Schools Programme reached approximately 5,000 children between 5-14 years old, in the Arts Council Priority Place of Kirklees. Read on to find out how this enriches the lives of children in Huddersfield – and how your school or your child’s school could take part.
Last year the Campaign for the Arts reported on the shocking statistic that enrolment in Arts GCSEs went down by 40% between 2010 and 2023. At A-Level, the figure was a 29% drop. As the report stated: “It has major implications for the education and aspirations of our young people, the arts education workforce and the health and diversity of our creative industries.”
Free assemblies and workshops in schools
While we have long championed promoting the arts in schools by organising author visits, in recent years we have increased our investment with a ring-fenced budget and a dedicated Schools Co-ordinator.
The result? Our 2024 Festival saw workshops delivered by professional poets, authors, dancers and musicians in 11 primary and secondary schools for almost 1,000 children – a 60% increase on our 2023 Programme.
Our Schools Co-ordinator Louise Grassby, a former deputy head and arts teacher, also delivered a number of assemblies across Kirklees schools to approximately 3,000 children. Teachers from a further eight schools shared slides about the Festival with another 2,000 pupils.
Student feedback
One of the main highlights for pupils in these workshops was the opportunity to create their own work and, in many cases, perform it for the school.
Teachers reported very high engagement from participating pupils, with many of them motivated to continue with their creative work after the workshop. For example, following a ‘Mic Champs workshop with Huddersfield rapper and youth worker Joel Simmy, Year 9 students approached their pastoral leader asking for a personal journal so they could continue to write at home.
Pupils and teachers fed back that they found meeting the authors and artists very inspiring, gaining an insight into story writing and poetry as a career. Teachers also highlighted how the Programme linked to and greatly enhanced the curriculum taught in their schools.
The workshops taught both technical skills and the understanding of different writing genres, history, literature, culture and environmental issues, with links to science and geography through the arts, poetry, rap, dance and music.
Feedback indicated pupils had also learned a great deal about personal development, such as confidence, resilience, kindness, respect, pride, citizenship, responsibility, teamwork and independence, creativity, managing emotions and acceptance of each other’s similarities and differences.
Who did we reach?
Around 5,000 students aged 5-14 from a diverse range of schools benefited from taking part in our Schools Programme. Our feedback data showed that participating schools had an average of 33% Free School Meal (FSM) pupils, compared with a national average of approximately 24%, indicating we reached students from a wide demographic.
Providing opportunities for local artists
Our workshops are designed to improve creative and cultural education for children and young people, but they also provide vital commissions for creative artists.
The workshops are delivered by practitioners from the local area, primarily West Yorkshire, with a particular focus on representing a diverse range of voices and experiences. They are chosen for both their skill in their craft and their experience of working in educational settings.
Bringing representation into the classroom is important for young people to see that people of diverse heritage work in creative careers. They also learned that there are many different ways of telling stories and that some artists combine different disciplines to tell stories, for example poems with musical accompaniment. A good example of this was the Halifax-based Annapurna Indian Dance workshops based on their current production A Tree in Time, which was also showcased at our Festival and carries important environmental messages.
Worth every penny of investment…
Our Schools Programme benefits students, teachers and creative practitioners, with a legacy that extends beyond the time spent in the classroom.
It widens and improves opportunities for children and young people to take part in creative activities and contributes to creative programmes within schools. By engaging children in the arts at various stages of their schooling, the Programme inspires participants to value creative pursuits later in life, with all the accompanying benefits.
Looking ahead to 2025
We are delighted that our 2025 Schools Programme workshops will be funded by a grant from One17 Charitable Trust and are extremely grateful for their support. The Programme will take place in the spring in the run up to our Festival next May.
To find out more, contact our Schools Co-ordinator Louise Grassby: [email protected]