Confluence

William Barnes Primary School, Sturminster Newton

Helen Porter has worked with parents and younger children together as a result of work with William Barnes Primary School in Sturminster Newton. Helen recognised a good opportunity for linking the school with the first Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival in 1999, reaching young parents through their children and giving them a role.

On the Saturday morning of the Festival, children and parents joined in new cheese games. Helen had worked on songs about cheese in a one and a half hour workshop at the school and these formed the basis of running and catching games which proved very popular. Two new singing games were played, Cheesey Pictures, inspired by the idea of the moon's reflection in the water, and Hey Ho the Cheese-O.

Later in 1999, the school became involved in work leading up to the musical BOX performance at Sturminster Mill on 3rd December 1999. Encouraged by the enthusiasm of head teacher Polly Patrick, Helen Porter gave two workshops which fed into the busy day of events. She helped a group of children to write and perform a new carol for the dedication of the town's Christmas tree. Also, the pipes and hurdy gurdy band drawn by Confluence to the musical Box gave a popular workshop in the previous afternoon for the whole school.

The children at this primary school in Sturminster Newton are particularly active musically, due to the keen support of the arts from both the head, and music teacher, Katherine Warren. Composing a new carol with a group of around twenty five children was especially enjoyable - their enthusiasm for this workshop meant that they produced abundant ideas for both lyrics and melodies. The group divided into four smaller groups, and each came up with their own verse for the carol. Some parents were also present, and commented that they had thoroughly enjoyed watching the children's ideas being shaped into song.

A fortnight later the pipes and hurdy gurdy band who were to be involved with the mill project, came into the school to run a workshop. The entire school participated at one time or another, but still the workshop leaders managed to successfully include every single child, teacher and parent in the workshop activities.

Later the same day, in the town square, the children sang their new carol around the Christmas tree, the words were suspended from a ladder and people standing around were encouraged to join in with the rhythmic choruses.

The robust singing of the children demonstrated their great delight in performing something they themselves had composed, and in the streets of their own town ­ amidst the bustle of the Farmer's Market.

A number of the children came with their parents to sing in the chorus at the Mill later the same day. An enthusiastic mother approached us at the end, saying how happy she was that her children had been included in such an exciting event. She felt very strongly that children needed to be given musical opportunities at primary school age, to help to develop an interest in and enthusiasm for the arts.

Children at the school, together with their teachers and parents, also started to write their own river diaries, based on their observations, poems and drawings of the river throughout the autumn.