Colston Hall is Bristol’s largest concert hall, presenting concerts and entertainment by major names in rock, pop, jazz, folk, world and classical music, stand up comedy and light entertainment, as well as local choirs, orchestras and schools.
Drama
Drama
Culture enriches lives, and participation in creative and cultural activities can have a significant impact on young people, by developing their appreciation, their skills and helping them to learn.
This has been shown repeatedly in international studies, and has also been backed up by recent evaluations of major programmes such as Creative Partnerships and Museums’ Strategic Commissioning. What these evaluations have shown is that culture and the arts can help young people achieve all of the Every Child Matters outcomes.
Cultural activities also gives young people the chance to develop important life skills such as creativity
As well as being valuable and enjoyable in its own right, participation in cultural activities also gives young people the chance to develop important life skills such as creativity, confidence, self-discipline, effective communication and the ability to work in teams. These skills are particularly important in a world of rapid technological and social change where the cultural and creative industries are increasingly important to our economic future.
That is why a commitment was made in the Children’s Plan to work towards a position where all children and young people — no matter where they live or what their background — have the chance to participate in at least five hours of high-quality culture per week, in and out of school. The Find Your Talent programme looks at different ways of offering young people a range of cultural experiences.
The aim is to give young people the chance to develop as:
- informed spectators (through attending top quality theatre and dance performances, world class exhibitions, galleries, museums and heritage sites)
- participants and creators (through learning a musical instrument, playing and singing in ensembles, taking part in theatre and dance performances, producing artwork, making films and media art, or curating an exhibition).
Arts and cultural activities are also an important stimulus to develop young people’s creativity. Learning outside the classroom activities which give children and young people the opportunity to work on real-life challenges; handle risk; develop their capacity to think imaginatively and creatively; define and explore complex problems; use and adapt multiple resources both within their community and beyond in order to experiment and devise solutions to these problems — all of these experiences nurture the mix of thinking, imagining, facing the unknown and making things happen which are the ingredients of creativity.
Examination Boards claim that GCE A Level and GCSE Drama courses not only allow students to demonstrate their skill and understanding of the dramatic arts but enable students to undertake challenging activities and to develop as human beings. Courses include such options as:
- improvisation
- stagecraft
- set design
- costume
- make-up and masks
- puppets
- lighting and sound
- stage management
Theatre visits will occupy an important place in any school Drama course. As well as watching plays, musicals, revues, operas, schools will want to seek out opportunities to see how these are put together. Drama teachers also appreciate the opportunity to show the ‘behind-the-scenes’ activities. A number of companies and organisations offer such possibilities.
For many years the Royal Opera House has not only staged school matinees, but also offered workshops to primary and secondary schools, including the opportunity for schools to create their own opera.
There are many travelling workshop companies that visit schools, too. This is known as Theatre in Education, a movement which was pioneered by the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in the 1960s. To download a history of Theatre in Education (TIE) click HERE. There are hundreds of companies who offer TIE and will visit your school to cover topics such as Joyriding, alcohol, smoking, truancy and even the transition to 'big school'. Such visits often engender interesting and involving discussions on the topics concerned amongst students.
One particular branch of TIE is Improv (short for Improvisation). This is often a participation theatrical experience as the actors involve students in the action, improvising scenes and sometimes even the story, engaging students even further.
Contacting companies who work in your area and subscribing to their mailing list or regular email updates will keep you in touch with what is on offer.
Main organisations:
National Foundation for Educational Research
Inclusion: NASEN
Thought of visiting?
Ticketmaster.com (other ticket websites are available and tickets are often cheaper when purchased direct from the venue)
Venues for this Curriculum
We are an award-winning, purpose-built conference, arts and entertainment centre offering a variety of facilities including:
An important Dickens collection, based in the author’s only surviving London house, decorated in Victorian style. See some of his possessions, plus other memorabilia.
School Visits
Contact us for full details and to plan your trip.
Key Stage One
Each visit includes:
A new standard in the provision of learning outside the classroom, including a £1m high-adrenaline activity park
This is the largest Kingswood centre, accommodating 630 young people in a mix of en-suite and standard multi-bedded rooms.
It has an all weather centre with an impressive 25,000 sq ft sports hall and heated indoor swimming pool.
Aardman's adeptness of engaging audiences with compelling stories told through animation, has earned the company a deserved worldwide reputation. Their award-winning work produces a unique brand of independent film alongside work for broadcast and advertising spots. The studio has had ten Oscar® nominations, and has won four.
The City's heritage walking tour from the Nottingham Ghost Walk team! See the key sites of interest in the City and hear intriguing tales about Robin Hood and many other famous Nottingham characters. Tour includes a cave visit (subject to availability). Was Robin Hood a Hero or a Villain?
Welcome to the finest drama, the brightest West End musicals, the cream of the comedy circuit, award winning ballet and dance, family friendly shows, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, Opera North and Rambert Dance – and (we think) the best Pantomime in the country!
We are a small museum chronicling the life and times of the famous writer, Jane Austen, plus Regency tearoom.
Our Jane Austen experience begins with a warm welcome and introductory talk from one of our knowledgeable and experienced guides. The introduction takes place on the first floor of this attractive Georgian town house, in a classically decorated period room.
A 1920s country retreat complete with luxuriant garden by the sea
Travel back in time to the Jazz Age at the holiday home of the D'Oyly Carte family.
You can lose yourself in the magical 12-hectare (30-acre) garden: viewpoints give enticing glimpses out to sea, paths weave through glades past tranquil ponds, and tender plants from the Mediterranean, South Africa and New Zealand thrive in the moist and sheltered valley.
Experience the romance and mystery of Newstead Abbey, home of Lord Byron
A beautiful historic house set in a glorious landscape of gardens and parkland within the heart of Nottinghamshire.
Medieval Newstead
The 112 acres of Kenwood is on the crest of one of the most popular open spaces in the capital, Hampstead Heath. In contrast to the natural Heath, the park around Kenwood is very much a designed landscape in an English style.
Set on the edge of Hampstead Heath and surrounded by tranquil landscaped gardens, Kenwood is one of London's hidden gems.
Travel back in time and discover the history of the Potteries and of Staffordshire.
See the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found on display, plus the world's finest collection of Staffordshire ceramics, Reginald Mitchell's WW2 Spitfire, Ozzy the famous pottery owl and all sorts of art and craft.
Drayton Manor is a fun-filled theme park near Tamworth with rides like Apocalypse, Maelstrom and Pandemonium, animals and of course Thomas Land, home of Thomas the Tank Engine. There's even a 4D cinema and a Dino Trail.
School Visits
King's Cross railway station is a major London railway terminus which takes its name from the King's Cross area of London, which itself was named after a monument to King George IV that was demolished in 1845.
The new Library of Birmingham is a stunning building both inside and out. Here you can:
Step back to the 1770s at poet William Wordsworth’s childhood home
Wordsworth House and Garden, in the Cumbrian town of Cockermouth, is the birthplace and childhood home of romantic poet William and his sister Dorothy.
It is presented as it would have been when they lived here with their parents, three brothers and servants in the 1770s.
Holy Trinity, Stratford, on the banks of the River Avon, is probably England's most visited Parish Church. As well as being a thriving Parish church, it receives many thousands of visitors each year due to the fact that William Shakespeare was baptised here, worshipped here, and is buried in the chancel.
At the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry we create theatre in the belief that it can enrich our communities and fundamentally change peoples’ lives for the better.
Schools
When you come to The Lyceum, we want your visit to be as relaxed and enjoyable as possible, from booking your tickets to the performance itself.
Victorian writers' shrine in Chelsea
Hidden in the quiet back streets of Chelsea is the home of Thomas and Jane Carlyle.
A twist of fate turned Carlyle into a star of the 19th-century literary world. Suddenly this was the place to be.
When you pull the bell to enter you will follow in the footsteps of Dickens, Ruskin, Tennyson and many more.
The REP’s mission has always been to produce excellent theatrical experiences, to entertain, enlighten and engage audiences and, wherever possible, to reflect the diversity of Birmingham and the surrounding region. This supports our vision, which is to ‘Inspire the city of Birmingham to a lifelong love of theatre’
The world's most famous address and the official home of Sherlock Holmes!
Step back in time, and when you visit London, remember to visit The World's Most Famous Address - 221b Baker Street - the Official Home of Sherlock Holmes!
Download our FREE Sherlock Holmes's London Walking Tour HERE.
Atmospheric Victorian home designed by Thomas Hardy
Max Gate, an austere but sophisticated town house a short walk from the town centre of Dorchester, was the home of Dorset's most famous author and poet Thomas Hardy. Hardy, who designed the house in 1885, wanted to show that he was part of the wealthy middle classes of the area, to reflect his position as a successful writer, and to enable him to enter polite society.
The most complete surviving Cistercian monastery in southern England, with almost all the walls of its 13th-century church still standing, along with many monastic buildings. After the Dissolution, the buildings were converted into the mansion house of Sir William Paulet.
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