Weekly Theatre Group Added at Charlton Manor Primary School

The curtain's gone up on another ground-breaking project at the remarkable Charlton Manor primary school in Greenwich.

A weekly theatre group has been added to the curriculum at the school in Indus Road, following cooking classes for every age group, secret garden, chicken and bee keeping, community farm and a news team that produces the school magazine, Manor LIFE!

The course is being run by James Haddrell, artistic and executive director of Greenwich Theatre, in partnership with Serin Ibrahim, artistic director of CultureClash Theatre Company. "We've had a lot of contact with the school in the last two years and we're very excited about working with a group of eight Year 5 pupils every week.

"As a charity we have a board of governors but I've always been interested in having a board of young people because of the number of family shows we present, so the theatre group at Charlton Manor seems to me to be the perfect pilot for that idea."

Pupils from the school recorded a song called Rainbow Connection for Peter Pan at the theatre and large groups have attended the last two pantos. "There was obviously a lot of talent at the school so it was great when head teacher Tim Baker agreed to have the theatre group," said James.

"As well as running drama workshops to develop the children's skills, we have decided to support them in creating a show by the end of term to perform to people. The group will decide what it will be about, and they will write it. It could be about anything from the Egyptians to the importance of recycling, it's completely up to them.

"They have already said who would like to be director, who would like to work on the costumes and those who want to be writers or actors. In the group they learn to be confident, perform in front of lots of people, work as a team and learn about professional discipline.

"So far we've talked about the different jobs in theatre, including lights, make-up, costumes, posters and press. We have also talked about what type of show they might like to make, drama, fairy stories, comedies, action stories. The children have tried out some improvisation and talked about building a character - and that's all in the first two weeks.

"I don't know of any other school having a group like this, so it might be unique. That's what special about this school, always trying something new and linked to the professional world outside. It's the whole ethos of the place."

Assistant headteacher Sean MacNamara said: "Pupils regularly visit Greenwich Theatre and always gain so much from the experience. Whether it's a performance that links to a topic or a pantomime at Christmas these trips have not only proven to be very popular but also have an impact on learning.

"We place real learning experiences at the heart of our curriculum. The cooking kitchens and community farm are used to sell produce at local markets, restaurants and our own school shop, while the radio room and green screen provide opportunities for pupils to present their own radio shows and even interview celebrities such as Jamie Oliver.

"So when the opportunity arose for us to work with both Greenwich Theatre and CultureClash we were very keen. It was an ideal opportunity to take learning from the classroom into the real world. Now we're all looking forward to the first show."

To find out more about Charlton Manor Primary School, please visit www.charltonmanorprimary.co.uk.

To find out more about Greenwich Theatre, please visit www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk.

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