By ANISAH ARIF
Students from Belle Vue Girl’s Academy devised an interactive experience to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice on Friday 9th November.
In conjunction with Historic England, teachers and students from Art, Music, Drama and English have discovered the significance of the arts in how we remember war. They collaborated to create a mesmerising experience which aimed to explore the act of remembrance and commemorate the changing roles of women during and after the Great War.
The installation itself features over 1200 poppies, individually created by every KS3 pupil in the school; a student response to Gustav Holst’s “Mars” from the Planet Suite; student-invented drama; poetry and creative writing.
Students from all year groups passed through the half hour installation, which was repeated ten times throughout the school day.
Students in Year 8 watched one-woman play “Words, Women and War” by local writer and actor Irene Lofthouse, a day before the installation with funding help from Historic England.
Some students then worked with her to devise a creative response to her play which became part of the installation the following day.
The WW1 Centenary project is part of an extensive programme working with Historic England aimed at developing young people’s knowledge and understanding of their local heritage and how this connects and informs their relationship with national and global events. The school is hoping to become the first high school in West Yorkshire to achieve the prestigious National Heritage Schools Award.
Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust (BDAT) was set up to support and sponsor Church of England and non-Church of England Academies in Bradford on behalf of the Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales.
“We work with our Academies to provide a network of support and challenge to achieve our vision of improved outcomes and results for all our children and young people. BDAT is a charity and company limited by guarantee, governed by a board of Trustees who are responsible for, and oversee the management of the company”.
BDAT will sponsor 14 Church of England Primary Academies and four secondary academies in Bradford by the end of 2018.
Originally established in 2012, the Trust believes all children only have one chance to receive a good education and has a mission to “provide high quality education within the context of Christian beliefs and practice”
