Gurnard Primary School has been selected by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and The Mayflower Theatre to become a Matilda Champion School as part of the musical’s new nationwide education programme, Change My Story.
Change My Story will reach up to 15,000 children and young people at more than 200 schools across the regions that Matilda The Musical is playing in as part of the show’s 2018/19 UK and Ireland tour.
As a Matilda Champion School, Gurnard Primary School will enter into a 2-year partnership with the RSC and The Mayflower Theatre in Southampton which will see teaching staff work with professional theatre directors, choreographers and musical directors to produce a special edit of Matilda The Musical as their school play in July.
Vanessa Hicks, Headteacher from Gurnard Primary School said:
“We are very proud and extremely excited to have been selected as a Matilda the Musical Champion School. This is a fantastic opportunity for our children and staff to work alongside professionals from the Royal Shakespeare Company and The Mayflower Theatre to create an amazing performance of Matilda the Musical.
“We will then be looking forward to working with other Island schools over the next year to share what we have learnt.”
Fiona Ingram from the Royal Shakespeare Company said:
“Change My Story gives schools the chance to work with musical directors, choreographers and directors from the RSC to stage their own edited performances of Matilda. It is a brilliant opportunity for them to share the story and creativity of Matilda with a whole new audience.
Article continues below this advertisement “Change my story is a perfect example of the power of the arts in the curriculum. It will give students and teachers the chance to build skills and confidence as they create theatre together with the RSC.”
In addition to its Matilda Champion Schools programme, Change My Story offers schools professional development courses for teachers which use Matilda The Musical as a springboard for creative writing, as well as Matilda In School Workshops for primary schools which are led by RSC and local theatre artists, exploring different storytelling techniques.
