It's the start of the build up to Christmas and Ingestre Hall welcomed the students and staff from St James C of E Primary, Oldbury. The theme for the creative workshops was ‘Planet Earth’ with the students creating in Drama, Art, Dance, Music and Animation workshops. 

Last week we welcomed back Windsor Park middle school for a ‘wild world’ themed residential. The school made the short journey over from Uttoxeter bringing with them a host of enthusiastic artists, musicians, actors, actresses and dancers. 

Ingestre Hall is still echoing with the screams of the students from Tameside primary and their ‘scream machine’ themed week. If I’m being completely honest I had no clue what the theme of ‘scream machine’ would involve however, once the the group had arrived it became clear to me that my idea of the theme was entirely different to the students. 

Last week, our skilled facilitators , hosted some students from the National Citizenship Service in Oxfordshire. With students arriving from two different campuses and three different study courses, this week was set to be an exciting change to our normal weeks. 

Ingestre Hall 2019—Day one. 

 

After a short coach journey, we arrived safely at Ingestre Hall. Those of us who had not been here before were amazed at how beautiful and grand the building was. Once we had been greeted by and introduced to all of the staff, we located our dormitories and began to unpack. We were all very excited to decide which bed we would sleep in and even had to make the beds by ourselves! Following lunch, we got into our creative groups to begin working with our tutors. We have started work on our Arts Awards which is very exciting. After tea, we had some free time which we filled by exploring the downstairs areas in the house and playing lots of games. Some of us got the opportunity to go and visit Ingestre Hall’s ‘WWI Casualty Clearing Station’ where one of the tutors - Felix - gave us lots of information about the war and also gave us the opportunity to explore the artefacts. Following our busy day, we were all very sleepy and were thankful to get tucked up in bed. We’re really looking forward to our week ahead and will let you know what else we have been to very soon! 

This week we welcomed back the staff and students from Our Lady St Kenelms for a brief but exciting couple of days! The theme for the week was ‘Resilience’ were the students with the students creating in Art, Drama, Dance, Music and Film , each interpreting the theme in different ways. During their stay, the group also took a trip to Ingestres’s St Marys church which just so happens to be the only church outside of London to be designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Whilst at the church the students serenaded the Stands with hymns, bell ringings and readings as well as learning all about the history of the building and its involvement as part of the Ingestre estate. 

This week we welcomed back Bleakhouse Junior School for another action-packed week of creativity. Focusing on the theme of “Books” the students honed their enthusiasm for reading through their respective creative outlets. However, it was not all about the creative processes this week, as the group got to spend much of their free time playing in the grounds, partying in our disco and even enjoying a 3D movie night. The Arts are important, but perhaps more importantly, a residential experience at Ingestre offers students a chance to connect and interact with their peers in a whole new way, as opposed to how they would if they were at school. 

October has arrived and so has the unpredictable weather. We had an absolute ball with the children and staff from the Hart School. Despite the truly awful weather, the group maintained an extremely positive and enthusiastic attitude towards each of their art forms. 

Equality was the theme of what was a very busy week here at Ingestre. Students and teachers made the journey from Blakedown, Belbroughton, Clent and St Kenelm’s Primaries for an action packed week of arts. 

 

This was certainly one of the busiest weeks we have ever had at Ingestre! With students from each school participating in Art, Drama, Dance, Music and Animation there was still somehow time for a range of evening activities. The group also got to experience a day trip to the Orangery for a very special, puzzling and intriguing collection of activities. All this, with the addition of a disco, 3D movie and bingo night! This was really a special week. Oh and I almost forgot a trip to Ingestre church, that just happens to be the only church outside of London to be designed by Sir Christopher Wren! 

Short but sweet, our second week of term kicked off with a visit from the wonderful children and staff from Park Hill Primary School. Their theme was Belonging, meaning that the tutors had a lot of scope for imaginative creating, led, of course, by the children.