Grantham students join tens of thousands of children in mass day of creativity

On Tuesday 2 July, students from across Grantham will join tens of thousands of school children in a UK-wide celebration of dancing, singing and design inspired by opera and ballet.

Delivered by the Royal Opera House as it celebrates 40 years of championing creative education, Create Day is a mass celebration of children’s creativity that will bring together young people from right across the UK.

The day will see tens of thousands of students take part in educational, fun and interactive lessons and performances, both in person and virtually, taking inspiration by work seen on the Royal Opera House Stage, including The Royal Ballet’s Light of Passage.

Choreographed by Crystal Pite, the second short section of the work, Covenant, is inspired by children’s rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, with six children being supported, guided, lifted, by a mass of adults moving in concert. Throughout the day, children will take part in workshops inspired by the piece, culminating in a final communal performance.

Light of Passage © 2022 ROH. Photographed by Tristram Kenton.

Hosted by Royal Ballet Principal Character Artist Gary Avis and television presenter Mwaksy Mudenda in Covent Garden, Royal Opera House artists will broadcast live into schools and regional hubs in Thurrock and Grantham, giving children across the country access to a full school day of creative learning.

Create Day, which is part of the Royal Opera House’s long-standing, free National School’s Programme, is open to all schools across the UK to help ensure that every child has access to the arts and education.

To support this, the Royal Opera House has collaborated with the UK Committee for UNICEF’s (UNICEF UK) Rights Respecting Schools Award to use the day to teach students about the importance of children’s rights, particularly focusing on the right to education.

Martin Russell, RRSA Programme Director, UNICEF UK, said: ‘The arts offer a powerful vehicle for exploring children’s rights and the principles and values that underpin rights. UNICEF UK’s Rights Respecting Schools Award is delighted to be collaborating with the Royal Opera House on Create Day, bringing both the arts and children’s rights to children across the UK in a really impactful way.’

With recent research from the Cultural Learning Alliance finding that there are 15,000 fewer arts teachers in English schools now than in 2010, free, arts education-based events and resources are more crucial than ever, giving children access to the full benefits of creative education. 

Jillian Barker, Director of Learning and Participation at the Royal Opera House, said: ‘The Royal Opera House wants to inspire creativity through ballet and opera. This first national Create Day brings the Royal Opera House into classrooms all over the country, connecting tens of thousands of children to our artists and artistry in a day of mass singing, dancing and design celebrating the creativity of the next generation’.

A programme that will continue into the coming years, Create Day is a chance for students and teachers to come together in one space to connect, learn, and create.

Rebecca Bollands, Deputy Head of Earlsdon Primary School, said: ‘Create Day gives our pupils the opportunity to develop their creativity whilst learning about very important issues linked to the rights of the child. It is a unique opportunity for children to combine learning linked to dance, singing and design, and it’s also brilliant to work with schools nationwide. This event has now been added to our school curriculum so that we can continue to embed the learning from it.’

Create Day is just one of the many community events and initiatives that are part of the Royal Opera House’s work in Grantham, including the Royal Opera House’s almost decade long partnership with the Grantham-based sports and education charity, Inspire+.