Lessons at one of Bolton's top performing schools have become a little dramatic.

They say all the world's a stage, and that is certainly the case at Blackrod Primary School, where performance is helping to enrich the lives of pupils.

The school has teamed up with the OctagonTheatre’s creative engagement team, which is running an arts outreach programme.

They are using the rural landscape to inspire the Into the Wood project, which is a two-year creative exploration of the environment using storytelling, fairy tales, and folk tales to spark the young people’s imagination and creativity.

The idea is to introduce young people intot he world of arts - from filmmaking, scriptwriting, drama workshops, and outdoor performance.

Creative workshops take place during and after the school day, and in the holidays.

Amelia Greenwood, a Year Four pupil at Blackrod Primary School, has been involved in the project.

She 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!”

So far the project has seen more than 300 children taking part in activities with results including artistic development confidence, self-esteem, interpersonal skills, teamwork and communication skills.

The Bolton News: Children from Blackrod Primary SchoolChildren from Blackrod Primary School (Image: Blackrod Primary School)

Into the Woods is a partnership project with BYB@Blackrod, the children’s hub set up by Blackrod Primary School, and the project is funded by the Ragdoll Foundation.

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.”

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.

The Bolton News: Children took part in the Into the Woods projectChildren took part in the Into the Woods project (Image: Blackrod Primary School)

“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.

“In the days leading up to the in-school assemblies which we held we placed clues around the school which included lines from a fairy tale poem that would form the stimulus for the project and which we have used in sessions to explore the theme of going ‘Into the Woods.’

“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.

“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 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 spokesman for the The 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.”

The Into the Woods activities will continue to empower young people to create their own stories and personal responses to traditional tales and fairy stories about where they live and how they see the world, putting the voices of the children at the centre of the project. The project finishes in May 2023.

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at chloe.wilson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @chloewjourno.