How we brought opera to two primary schools
Year 5 pupils from Linthwaite Clough and Meltham Moor spent a term working with Opera North, and finished by performing eight songs alongside professional musicians at St Bartholomew's in Meltham.
Most ten year olds have never seen an opera, and most would not expect to like one. That was roughly the position at the start of last spring term, when Year 5 pupils from Linthwaite Clough and Meltham Moor began working with musicians from Opera North.
Over the term they learned eight songs, through workshops and coaching sessions built into the Year 5 curriculum rather than bolted onto the end of the day. In June they performed them at St Bartholomew's in Meltham, in front of their families and a full house from both communities, alongside the professionals who had taught them.
The project was put together by Catherine Heppenstall, our Interim Director of Personal Development for primaries, whose enthusiasm for it proved thoroughly catching. She brought Opera North to the table, coordinated two schools and a term of workshops, and secured the funding to make it happen. Almost £12,000 came from local businesses and community donors, covering the workshops, the coaches, and the evening itself. Triestina Bozzo, our Director of Character, Personal Development and Careers, supported the work across both schools.
Accessibility was built into the plan from the start. Every child took part, and the funding was raised specifically so that cost was never the thing that decided who performed and who watched.
“We know how important this is to some of our families who won’t have had the opportunity to experience live theatre before. Seeing their children perform opera alongside professional musicians is truly special and opens doors to a world they might never have accessed otherwise.”
What the children got from it is easier to see than to measure. Some of it is technical: vocal work, performing to an audience, holding your nerve. Some of it is the thing a parent describes in the film, about a ten year old needing the chance to try everything before they can work out what is theirs. For a handful of them it will be opera. For most it will be something else entirely, and they will only find it if somebody puts it in front of them.
The performance drew a large turnout from both villages, which was part of the point. Two schools, two communities, one evening, and a room full of people who had helped pay for it.
“As individual schools and as part of the Together Learning Trust, we believe a truly rounded education goes beyond the classroom, offering experiences that inspire creativity, build confidence, and bring communities together.”
The ambition is for this to become a lasting partnership rather than a single term, with arts experiences of this quality built into the curriculum year after year.
