With the start of the new academic year upon us, barely had September taken a breath than we were springing back into action with a short 2 night visit from Lodge Primary School, who came to explore a school-wide learning objective of ‘Dreaming Big’ and maximising their aspirations. 

Last week saw the end of another academic year at Ingestre as Perryfields High School visited us for another jam-packed week of fun and creativity. The group arrived at the Hall ready for a week full of Drama, Art, Dance and Music workshops. Their theme for the week was kindness and collaboration, which set the week to be one that we all thoroughly enjoyed. 

As we start to wind down for the summer holidays there seems to be an increasing sense of mindfulness around the hall. This week Ingestre hosted the students from Dormston School, Dudley for a week of Drama, Dance, Art and Music workshops. The theme for the week was Resilience, which offered the students a rather broad narrative in which to create. 

Well what a busy week indeed! Ingestre Hall hosted two groups from St Johns’s Middle school splitting the week in two. Over 100 students created in Dance, Music, Art and Film workshops. The work that was created throughout the week was incredible, there were some truly talented individuals. Both groups should be extremely proud of what they achieved. 

Week after week Ingestre is home to groups from all over the country however, this week was one of the most enjoyable we have had in a long while The delightful group from Summerhill Primary created beautifully together, working in Art, Drama, Dance and Music. Summerhill also enjoyed some lovely weather, making the most of Ingestre’s 20+ acres with all sorts of summer sporting activities. 

 

The theme for this week was ‘War’, more specifically WWI & II. This provided the artists, musicians, actors, actresses and dancers a whole host of interesting and exciting material to create with. 

In what was a busy rotation week, Ingestre was host to a shared group made up of Brickhouse and Lyng primary schools. The groups worked together to create and perform in dance, drama, visual art and music. All students took part in a rotation this week , meaning that they participated and performed in two separate art-forms. There was also time for the two schools to socialise with games in the Great Hall and grounds, treasure hunts, visits to our WW1 exhibition, 3D movie nights and even a disco to end the week. 

 

The theme for the week was Harry Potter, which offered some spellbinding and magical narratives for the students to create with. 

What a brilliant week! This week the students form Wodensborough Ormiston Academy came to Ingestre Arts. With the group ranging from Year 7 to Year 10 there was a lot of apprehension on the first day however, by the end of the week all this had changed. The first workshop was a team building activity, where working in mixed groups, the students had to make a bridge to support a full drinks can. Bridges were marked on their aesthetic, and also their effectiveness! With the emphasis on teamwork, students were forced to communicate with others who they wouldn’t necessarily have approached on their own, and whilst it sounds tough, it made for beginnings of lots of new friendships through the week. 

 

The 58 students threw themselves into workshops in Drama, Dance, Music and Art, all pushing them out of their comfort zones resulting in some fantastic work. 

You don’t always get what you expect. Trump. Brexit. Who saw it coming? And persistent, at times torrential, rain in June. You didn’t bargain on that when you booked your summer educational visit and bought your shorts and shades, did you?! 

 

However, every cloud (and there are lots around as I write) has a silver lining – if you look hard enough. 

This week Ingestre was home to the children from Highfield’s Primary school. The theme for the week was the ‘American Dream’. This is a favoured theme for Highfield’s and something that fits in perfectly with the students curriculum of the American Civil War and modern history. The group created some brilliant works in Visual Art, Drama, Dance and Music. 

What a creative week we had! The students from The Link Academy arrived at Ingestre Hall with the difficult theme of Resilience as their task for the week. Typically, the whole week was taken up by encouraging and developing talent and artistic expression that represents what Ingestre Arts is all about. A residential week at Ingestre Hall aims to help people out of their comfort zones and encourage them to engage in and express themselves through the Arts. This week was a brilliant example of Ingestre’s raison d’être.