Greenfield has, once again, been successful in securing funding from the British Council via the Lefevre Fund to the tune of £10 000. The bid which was put together by the subject leader for Performing Arts, Ali Dixon, will enable students to work on an International project with a new partner school in Amiens, France. ‘Together we will create work which utilises other subjects using the theme of transport, particularly the railways, through the creative medium of dance. We will research and create writing & poetry about the history of the railways and work jointly on the creation of a series of stories, films, images which will be narrated and intertwined with a series of dance pieces to explain the impact the railways have on our lives’ Mrs Dixon explained the rationale for the anglo part of the project is based on the local culture and the history of building and developing transportation, especially the railways and including the Shildon to Darlington lines for the first passenger railway as well as the new Hitachi business site in Newton Aycliffe which is manufacturing trains for the global market.
Darlington also happens to be twinned with Amiens, the historic town which is close to the site of the school Greenfield will be working with. The transport theme will allow a multi-discipline approach to exploring the impact of transport on civilisation across Europe but particularly UK and France. The general topic of transport links with the contemporary subject of sustainable development and forms a natural connection between our countries. Work around researching local transportation links, industrialisation and the future of travel will provide the framework for this intercultural dialogue and a platform for dance choreography, photography, design and technological research. Pupils and staff will communicate, where possible, in each other’s languages. Mrs Dixon added, ‘this is an exciting project which will help young people from Newton Aycliffe and Shildon learn much more about where they live both in terms of heritage and culture but also about the importance of travel and how people and industries connect at a local, national and international level and the impact this has on communities, opportunities and diversity.’
