Youngsters find their voice

A musical end to the winter term saw students at The Minster School, Southwell, singing and dancing to activities, including a vocal session with Mark De-Lisser from BBC’s The Voice.

Building on the success of last year’s event, staff aimed to encourage youngsters to step out of their comfort zone, develop new skills and interact with different people.

Among the other activities were a school of rock, dance workshops, body percussion, a samba band and ukulele Christmas.

There were performances by bands formed by students. One group, Platform 58, has played gigs in the area.

Hannah Nolan, 8, who attends the school’s junior department, said she enjoyed the samba drumming workshop.

“It has been a fun day as everyone is joining in and doing activities together. No-one is scared to do a solo. Everyone is having a go,” she said.

“I also liked the music because we have some talented people and I hadn’t heard them play before today.”

After being notified at the last minute that an external organisation was unable to participate, staff pulled together to complete the timetable by facilitating instrumental workshops.

Head of house, Mr Phil Rowson, said he was impressed by students and teachers.

“The teachers pulled through today,” he said.

“By using their talents and sharing them with the students it turned out to be a great opportunity for the students to see another side to their teachers and to find a new way of relating to one another.

“This year we wanted to focus on including every individual so we invited performers to come in and run live workshops.

“I think the interaction has inspired them.”