This was a literature and sport based project for Lowestoft's Primary Schools based on the 2016 Olympics/Paralympics featuring inspirational Paralympians, an Award-Winning poet head and Capoeira - lots and lots of lovely capoeira.
We were thrilled to be working in partnership with Lowestoft Rising delighted to welcome Paralympian’s Ade Adepitan MBE, Danny Crates and Zoe Newson plus award-winning performance poet Joseph Coelho to Lowestoft’s first Cultural Education Partnership Project.
As the Rio Olympics approaches this project engaged with over 1200 KS2 school children aged 7-11 from primary schools across Lowestoft in a series of lively Olympic themed events which used sporting themes to demonstrate the joy of language, inspiring the children to experiment, play and be creative with words.
Joseph Coelho was been commissioned by FlipSide to write a new poem about Olympic/Paralympic values and at the end of each event he challenged the children to write their own Olympic-themed poem and enter it into a special Lowestoft Primary Schools Poetry competition.
Poet and playwright Joseph Coelho is the 2015 winner of the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) Children’s poetry award for his first solo collection Werewolf Club Rules. Joseph’s talks and workshops are in demand across the country and he strongly believes that children have “a natural propensity for poetry” and that this ought to be nurtured from a young age.
This project culminated in a vibrant celebration of the Rio Olympics with capoeira and maracatu dance displays and workshops at the Lowestoft Summer Festival on 24th July where the Brazilian Ambassador, His Excellency Eduardo dos Santos, presented the poetry competition awards.
This project is funded by Arts Council England, Suffolk County Council and Lowestoft Rising with the support of The Festival Bridge.
To read Cross-Country School Run by Joseph Coelho, click here.