Film, Digital Media & moving image educational projects - Creative Partnerships - Greek or Egyptian

It’s all Greek – or is it Egyptian?? Coverack and Looe Primary Schools ’ special cross-curricular projects with Sarah Waller

Advanced Skills Teacher for Dance Sarah Waller led two visionary primary schools projects last term, working with teachers, and a team of brilliant creative practitioners to challenge and inspire cross-curricular ways of teaching traditional historical subjects. Dance and digital media acted as catalysts for unique journeys across time and place.

Looe Community Primary School took the Ancient Greeks as their subject, while Coverack o­n the Lizard focused o­n the Ancient Egyptians. In what Sarah herself describes as ‘the best yet ’ in terms of their deepening success and lasting learning legacy for the children, the two projects showed how a creative approach to these primary school favourites enabled the subjects to literally be brought to life by the children, offering them a profound learning experience and culminating in some unforgettable performances for peers, parents and the local community.

Both projects, working to challenge traditional teaching, took the curriculum as their starting point and framework, but both saw the children really experiencing those worlds through the use of new technology including blue-screening techniques and film, visual art, making (including a massive aeroplane at Coverack made of withies that was ‘flown ’ round the playing field by parents)and multiple layers of performance. Each school was transformed, obliterating everyday classrooms and creating unique spaces for dance and projection including cupboards and hallways.

The results were beautiful, profound and lasting. Martin Dalton, Head Teacher of Coverack, whose school turned itself into an Egyptian tomb for the week (including turning the playground into the desert with a generously-donated lorry-load of sand),described how impressed he had been with the incredible level of commitments, hard work, inspiration and, best of all, the understanding and confidence it had given the whole school. He celebrated Sarah ’s and the artists ’ work, hailing the project as a huge achievement o­n so many levels.

For more information o­n both projects you can contact Sarah Waller at swaller@cornwall.gov.uk