GENERATION N*XT: Mountview's youth programme

During the week, Mountview is full of students aged 18+ training at the highest level. Whether they are studying Performance or Production Arts across BA, MA or Foundation levels, students have come from across the UK and internationally for world class intensive training. On a Saturday, however, the building is transformed as it is handed over to GENERATION N*XT, Mountview’s flagship programme for young people, offering a range of classes for 6 to 18-year-olds – and students up to 24 for some weekday classes.

GENERATION N*XT is a constantly evolving programme, which responds directly to our local community, creating opportunities and improving access to the arts. While the scheme has been running for many years, the programme is still young in our local community of Peckham where we moved to in 2018 following the opening of our new home. During the process of establishing the programme in Peckham, we focused our approach on the following key factors.

Serve your doorstep!

Based in Peckham, Mountview is privileged to have a home in one of the most creative and diverse areas in London. GENERATION N*XT focuses on this local area, engaging and serving the hyper-local community, as well as those further afield.

Removing barriers

Young talent is everywhere, but access and opportunity are not! There are many barriers to participation and while some are visible and easy to remove, others are more challenging. One of the main barriers to participation is financial. If a programme only serves those who can afford it, how can it ever truly represent its community and our society?

Fees for GENRATION N*XT have not increased in 16 years (£90 a term, which equates to £4.50 per hour). While this is fantastic value, it’s still not enough. With this in mind, we are proud to work with trusts and foundations in order to offer bursaries to local residents in financial need. Out of our current group of participants, 57 per cent receive a fee bursary and would not be able to engage in the scheme without this financial support.

Another barrier worth addressing is location. Teenage students often have to make their own way to an extracurricular activity, and can be put off by a difficult or long journey where they have to take multiple forms of public transport. This is something that inner-city organisations need to consider, and is why we focus any school workshops or GENERATION N*XT activities on our doorstep.

Celebrating the GENRATION N*XT voice

There are brilliant youth theatres and incredible teachers working in school Drama departments across the UK, each with bespoke approaches that can be pivotal in a young person’s development. The GENRATION N*XT programme sits between the two. There are no exams, assessments or major production with a demanding rehearsal schedule. GENRATION N*XT is simply two hours a week in which a young person can drive their own experience. The programme offers a place to grow and explore – somewhere their voice is heard and celebrated.

There is no prescribed curriculum. Instead, practitioners offer three different options for the groups to explore each term, all different and building on the previous term. We also set a ‘theme’ each term to build the work around, which helps provide a connected experience between the different groups. Themes can be built around a piece of music or an image, or can be a chance to explore a citizenship or societal issue. Crucially, it will be something relevant to a young person.

The perfect practitioner, the perfect team

The GENERATION N*XT practitioners are made up of actors, musicians and teachers from diverse creative fields. Each brings their unique expertise and passion about inspiring the next generation. Many come from the local area, which has been invaluable in building an authentic and trusted working environment. There are also a wider team of ushers and administrators, who are equally essential in delivering the programme and creating the right atmosphere. Arriving, leaving and the 15-minute break are just as important as the work in the studio. These moments are the shared experience and establish the true community of GENRATION N*XT.

We grow and we learn

Mountview is learning too! Drama schools are large in scale and most vocational training is tied into accreditation and syllabus, but it’s important to remember that the most exciting new art forms, styles and genres come from young people and from a grass roots environment. GENERATION N*XT gives us the opportunity to create that space of experimentation and to learn from the young people. We can introduce them to established methods, styles and material, and they can teach us what is happening now.

GENERATION N*XT is at the heart of the Mountview ethos, and while the pandemic temporarily moved us digital and pressed pause, it is now back where it belongs, and it’s a privilege to watch the scheme – and its participants – develop and grow.

mountview.org.uk/whats-on/take-part/generation-nxt