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Year 9 War Horse Project
Wednesday 29 June 2011
Due to a successful bid through the Schools of Creativity scheme, the Humanities and Drama faculties at Cirencester Deer Park School are pleased to be able to offer their Year 9 pupils a unique opportunity on an excellent Cross Curricular project.
Working around the 'War Horse' novel by Michael Morpurgo and the highly acclaimed stage production by the National Theatre, we will look at the background of the First World War in History. Mark Chapman, a Year 9 pupil, stated “Reading books like this in class can make you learn history better. You can learn the facts, but connect with the history in a different way”. The teaching of WW1 will be followed up with a visit to the Imperial War Museum on 15 September where we will work with the Historical Advisor for the show. One pupil stated it would be the highlight of the project: “I love going to London, and the Imperial War Museum will be brilliant!”
In Drama we will spend two days of exploration drama working with a professional director - ex Bristol Old Vic Theatre - to look at the themes and issues in the stage version of the play. This will result in a performance on the second day in the evening for parents to see the outcome of the workshops. These will take place on 19 and 20 July. The stage production uses life sized puppets of horses as part of the performance. The production has received excellent reviews by all who have seen it and has recently opened on Broadway to much acclaim. As part of the project pupils will see the show after the visit to the Imperial War Museum at the National Theatre on 15 September. Year 9 pupil Kate Foye explained “I think it’s a really good idea to combine curriculum areas. I enjoy both History and Drama and to be able work on a project where I get to do both and see this show will be amazing.”
Pupils prepare for their War Horse workshop
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