Although the Royal Opera House already boasts an impressive National Schools Programme, it recently announced that it was launching a new project with The Elliot Foundation Academies Trust (TEFAT) to run a targeted yearlong project designed to upskill teachers across 32 primary schools and enable them to deliver an entire year of arts-led learning.
The vast majority of children within TEFAT are from disadvantaged backgrounds, often remaining within their own locality. As a result, many won’t have the opportunity to visit a local theatre, let alone a national portfolio organisation. The role of this project is to show both teachers and pupils that opera is accessible – and they can get involved.
Suitably grand ambitions then, but what does that look like in practise? And is it working?
The project takes the form of CPD, which focuses on giving teachers the tools to deliver a five-week scheme of work inspired by Royal Opera House productions. The partnership kicked off with a launch day for teachers in which the Royal Opera House team show teachers how to make music and drama accessible with engaging exercises. Before they knew it, 70+ educators were singing opera together!
‘Teachers experienced first-hand an amazing team of professionals sharing their secrets to high quality, inspirational singing delivery,’ says Sarah Edwards, arts lead for TEFAT East Anglia. ‘Non-specialists commented on the fact that after the session they finally felt equipped to deliver singing sessions for pupils in a stage-appropriate way. The choral session gave them tools in the form of singing exercises and delivery ideas to get even the most reluctant singers up and singing.’
A cut above the rest
Although the launch clearly had immediate impact on its participants, the teachers were not just then sent away to ‘do opera’. What seems to set this CPD apart from others are the continuing tangible connections with the Royal Opera House for the partner schools. During live rehearsals, members of the Royal Ballet performed excerpts from productions for students watching via video link. Schools recently took part in a ‘Meet the Artists’ session for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Dancers Nicol Edmonds and Isabella Gaspirini rehearsed with rehearsal director Christopher Saunders, while principal character artist Gary Avis hosted questions from students. The event allowed students to see how the dancers explore a story through movement, and proved how important design is to the telling of that tale.
Pupils watch a Taylor Family Foundation Schools’ Matinee performance, 2010
A resource pack that goes above and beyond
These insights from creative professionals complement the CPD sessions and resources provided by the creative education team. Of course, like the rest of the provision, the follow-on resources here are top quality: comprehensive, detailed and easy to use. The page for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland features structured lesson plans on the role of a designer, how you can interpret a production, as well as a selection of mood boards, model boxes and recordings of music from the production. Videos support these lessons, alongside other documents, including a sample brief from Kevin O’Hare, director of The Royal Ballet, commissioning young designers to make a stage set. Touches like this provide tangible real-life links back to the Royal Opera House.
‘Teachers were given confidence to deliver a high-quality design technology unit around stage design for ballet,’ says Angie Watson, arts lead for TEFAT West Midlands. ‘The practitioners showed them everything from creating a vision through collage and being inspired by the music to building scale models and testing different designs.’
Teachers from the schools also had the opportunity to see The Magic Flute at the Royal Opera House, which was many of their first experiences of seeing live opera. The partnership culminates in a celebratory event this July, with 2000 children from TEFAT schools joined by opera singers and 44 members of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House to perform music from the opera they so enjoyed seeing together, The Magic Flute.