aCotswolds Arts Through Schools
This is a partnership of local arts organisations to try and help develop the teaching of art, music, drama, dance and oracy in local primary schools and other activities out of school. Members are Sculpture at Kingham Lodge, Longborough Festival Opera, Chipping Norton Theatre, Wychwood Chorale, Chipping Norton Music Festival, Chipping Camden Music Festival, Guiting Festival, Shipston Proms, Chipping Norton Choral Society and Youth Choir, Dean and Chadlington Music Festival, Cherwell Theatre, Oxford Opera, Woodstock Museum, . We work with the County Music Service and OXYGEN (the cultural educational partnership based at Banbury funded by Arts Council), the Royal Ballet School and the English Speaking Board. We are working in 54 schools and over 8000 children as of July 2025. Anther six schools have applied for help this autumn term. All schools are getting specialist art workshops termly with a professional artist teaching charcoal, water-colour, acrylics, clay modelling, pottery, engraving, packaging, cartoons etc. These sessions are supported by teacher training, syllabus support (KAPOW or Access Art), art materials and art prizes. In the summer term fifteen schools had Opera in the Playground (involves about 250 children with professionals performing to about 2500 children). This term ten schools will have opera workshops with Oxford Opera, another ten schools will have the Primary Steps programme from the Royal Ballet School, fifteen schools are starting with ocarinas or ukeleles, several more schools are having a singing teacher come in. In the autumn term more schools will start drama workshops on bullying or on theatre skills run by Chipping Norton Theatre. The Chipping Norton Music Festival has extra classes for children to sing, recite or perform on instruments including bands and choirs.
This application is to help finance more workshops for more schools in west Oxfordshire, add more advanced instruments to schools that have started instrument teaching, add playground instruments, and help with transport and material costs so all schools can participate in events like Sculpture at Kingham Lodge or concerts.
