Over three harmonious months during the summer in 2015, we brought together children aged 5–10 from two primary schools in Westminster, to compose original songs based on the theme of friendship.

Under the guidance of our professional musician Hannah Dunster, children from Hallfield Primary School and St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School spent the first workshop playing musical icebreaker games, helping them to strike up friendships and improve their confidence. As the project progressed, they began contributing ideas for lyrics and melodies as a group, exploring their creative potential until they had written a collection of heart-warming compositions.

In July, the workshops culminated in two performances at Southbank Centre’s Festival of Love, in which the children sung their songs to rapturous applause from an audience of family members, friends, teachers and members of the public.

As part of our Celebrating Diversity programme, each workshop encouraged the children to think about friendship and the benefits of living in a diverse community. The project provided them with a creative outlet to express their feelings and emotions, and gave them the opportunity to learn from one another, develop self-confidence, and feel proud at what they had achieved as a group.

Aurora, one of the children who took part in the project told us:

“It was really fun because we got to make up songs. We started with a Hello Song and a Goodbye Song. We also played lots of games including A Night in the Museum and Barry the Beaver.

“My favourite parts of the project were meeting everyone, especially Create’s musician, and when we worked in groups to come up with our ideal friend. We made up a girl who liked ice skating.

“I used to do drama at Sylvia Young on Saturdays where I learnt a bit of singing too, like high and low harmonies. Now I usually sing at home when I’m brushing my teeth or just before I go to sleep. It’s different singing with other people because you’re learning how to be friends at the same time. I’ve made loads of new friends on the project. When I was singing the harmonies I saw some people smiling at me so I think they liked what I was doing so I smiled back. I never knew I could write music. When I was about four years old, I start singing my own tunes but I couldn’t write them down because I couldn’t really write at that age. When I sing at home, I imagine singing in a concert. When my mum and dad are asleep I just sing in my head. My mum noticed that I liked singing so she signed me up to a choir and then this project with Create came up so it’s perfect really. Now I want to go to choir even more because I feel singing is my talent. I like dancing too by my mum says I’m better at singing.

“I’ve never sung somewhere like the Southbank Centre before so it’s a big opportunity for me. When I’m older I think I want to be a singer, an artist and a vet, and my friends and parents are supportive of that. When people cheer me on, it helps me to keep going.”

Many thanks to Strand Parishes Trust and Westminster Amalgamated Charity for funding the project.

This article is from 2015.

Over the last four years, we’ve taken our A Wealth of Stages project – designed to develop financial literacy through drama – to children in some of the most deprived areas of London. (This article is from 2015.)

In July 2015 we finished a project at Tyssen Community Primary School in Hackney led by our artists James Baldwin, co-founder of Function Theatre, and Ellen Havard who is currently working on a highly anticipated production of Jane Eyre at the National Theatre.

The project began in June when the students aged 10 and 11 joined us on a trip to the Bank of England Museum. There, they learned about inflation and the economy as well as the story of the historic bank, and exercised their creativity as they set about sketching the neo-classical architecture. They drew up their own designs for £5 notes and even discussed what they would do if they had their very own bar of gold.

When they returned to Hackney, the children took part in two financial workshops, introducing them to the concepts of “needs versus wants”, charitable giving and saving. Using what they had learned, they collaborated to write original scripts under the expert guidance of our artists. One of the groups developed a play in which a boy borrowed money from a loan shark in order to go on holiday to Barbados, coming up with a plot that featured a team of ninjas!

After a week of creativity and fun, the students at Tyssen Community Primary School performed their dramatic pieces for an audience of family and friends, as well as special guest Cllr Sade Etti, Speaker of Hackney Council.

One of the students who took part in A Wealth of Stages said, “I learnt a lot about money. Like how, in the olden days, things used to cost less than they do now. And I learnt what interest is and what a loan is. When I go to the high street, I see loan shops and I didn’t know what they were but now I do.”

Another student said, “I have learned how to perform in front of an audience without getting stage fright. I used to be very shy but, because of the workshops, I’ve outgrown that. Sharing my opinions made me feel brave.”

Many of the young people explained that they now have an increased understanding of different banking options; awareness of the importance of saving; and greater understanding of the positive/negative implications of spending choices.