Blackrod Primary School and Octagon put on arts programme

Youngsters inspired by their beautiful rural surroundings are creating their own magial world through scriptwriting, drama and filmmaking using fairy tales and folk tales to spark their imagination.

Blackrod Primary School children are taking part in the ‘Into the Woods’, which is run by Octagon Theatre in conjunction with BYB@Blackrod - Be Your Best.

So far, the project has seen over 300 children taking part in activities designed to develop their creativity, increase confidence and self-esteem, and enhance interpersonal qualities, teamwork, and communication.

Over 300 children have taken part in the activities (Image: Blackrod Primary School)

Headteacher at Blackrod Primary School, Kath Mead, said: “We are delighted to partner with The Octagon Theatre to deliver ‘Into the Woods’ and would like to thank the Ragdoll Foundation.

“This is a fantastic and magical programme which has sparked the imaginations of all children within our school community, enabling them to explore creativity and learn new skills in the surroundings of the beautiful and rural landscape of Blackrod.

“We believe it is so important to work with partners to provide children with enhanced opportunity, and this is a perfect example of how collaboration can make such a difference to the lives of children.”

Amelia Greenwood, a year 4 pupil at Blackrod Primary School, said: "Into the Woods has been absolutely fabulous.

“I have become a better actor and the sessions outside in the school grounds made me feel like I was in an enchanted forest. Everyone should take part in Into the Woods!"

Children were told fairy tales and folk tales to spark their imagination (Image: Blackrod Primary School)

Head of Creative Engagement at the Octagon, Imogen Woolrich, said: “We are thrilled to be working with BYB@Blackrod and Blackrod Primary School and extremely thankful to the Ragdoll Foundation for supporting our community work and making this project a reality.

“Into the Woods is about letting the children explore their creativity and artistic experiences, so we wanted to present the project in as magical way as possible which is why we chose to use fairy tales to really engage their imagination.

“The participants then took part in a series of creative drama workshops which gave them a taster of what they went onto experience during the summer school.”

She added: “It has been wonderful to see the positive response from the children, they have all been full of energy, showed great enthusiasm and had lots of fun.

The programme is run by Octagon Theatre and BYB@Blackrod (Image: Blackrod Primary School)

“The budding performers switched on their imaginations and explored their creativity through improvisation, movement and character-building games and activities.

“We are looking forward to seeing what they create over the coming months.”

A spokesperson from Ragdoll Foundation said: “Our Trustees have been pleased to support this high-quality, strategic project, which builds on Octagon Theatre’s commitment to engage local communities and promote equality of access to the arts.

“Its strong sense of place and two year duration mean that the children have a strong voice in how the project develops.”