Aspire works with Year 9 (13-14 year olds) students from various schools across East London, encouraging them to actively engage with their learning and life opportunities. The Aspire students are referred to the project because they fall into the category of ‘excluded within school rather than from school’.

Polygon Arts is delivering a scheme of work over a period of 7 weeks (half a term), offering a variety of arts-based lessons (using drama, photography, poetry, visual arts) examining different aspects of the Holocaust, encouraging participants to draw out themes that have resonance with their own lives.

Year 4 Students at Barham Primary School (London Borough of Brent) enhanced their Persuasive Writing with photography skills. First they analysed how images are used in advertising then they took photographs to enhance their own poster campaigns.
 

Touring London secondary schools 21 September - 16 October 2009.

Play and workshop package in association with Romany Theatre Company and Border Crossings Education, part of Origins Festival of First Nations.

Brigg's room is like a prison cell. No plants grow in this soulless world. There is not even soil.
In the library, Brigg opens a book marked "Do not read", and sees pictures of flowers for the first time.

Aspire works with Year 9 and 10 students from schools in East London, encouraging them to actively engage with their learning and life opportunities. The Aspire students are referred to participate in the project because they fall into the category of ‘excluded within school rather than from school’. These young people may not be accessing the curriculum for a range of reasons.

Based on The Jungle Book, a performance introduced the characters and the subject matter followed by a workshop which looked at difference and discrimination through animal characters. Students were encouraged to:

• Explore FEELINGS

• CHALLENGE negative behaviour

• Increase CONFIDENCE

• Rehearse STRATEGIES

Key Stage 2 students met teenage characters Zara and Lee as they faced difficult choices around smoking, drugs, eating or relationships.

Students were encouraged to:

• EXPLORE influences, motivations, emotions

• Identify RISKS

• Discover CHOICES

A five-week residency with Key Stage 3 students exploring Anti-Social Behaviour by getting to know teenage characters Keely and Darren.

• UNDERSTAND motivations

• Examine CONSEQUENCES

• Look for realistic ALTERNATIVES

“The programme gave me inspiration and confidence.” Kate, age 15
 

Students work with professional musicians to write, perform and record their own original song in one day. Lyrics express a chosen PSHCE theme - past songs have covered bullying, drugs, transitions, the environment.