By Glen Robertson
Two Newton Aycliffe schools are teaming up to introduce young students to samba music.
Woodham Community Technology College and St Francis’ Primary School are hoping the children introduced to the genre can perform for the well-established Woodham Samba Band.
Staff and students from Woodham are running weekly workshops at St Francis, teaching children of varying ages. So far Year 3 and Year 6 children have taken part in the workshops, and by the end of the school year this will have been extended to Year 5 as well.
The aim is for primary age students to learn about samba music through performing it, with a view to taking part in Woodham Community Technology College’s annual Summer Concert.
The project involves all children in music-making, irrespective of whether or not they have a musical background or any prior knowledge or experience of music.
Year 11 Woodham students Gemma Parker and Stacey Sherman, who have been helping with the practical workshops, agree that there are positives for both sides: “We were impressed with how quickly the children picked up the rhythms and performed them accurately.
“It made it very easy to get them to work together and listen to each other – which is important in samba music. We’ve enjoyed the opportunity to work with younger students, and have found this a rewarding experience”.
Woodham Samba Band will be performing with the newest members in the Summer concert, which will take place on Thursday 5th July at 7pm in the main school hall.
Tickets for the concert are available from Woodham Community Technology College on 01325 300328.