School: Hurlford Primary, Kilmarnock, 324 pupils. Headteacher Kirsteen McCartney What was the best arts company to visit your school in the past year?
Venture Productions What did they do?
They put on a performance called The Happy Tree. It was about the environment and how to care for it. There were two members of the team dressed 5up as various characters, one good and one bad, and they provided the costumes and set.
Did you do any preparation work?
Yes. They sent us information about the production which we circulated among the P1-7 teachers, so that the children would have a fair understanding about pollution and ecology, and what they can do to improve matters.
Did you do any follow-up work? There was a question and answer session at the end of the performance and the children did written and art work afterwards.
What did the visit cost?
Pounds 1 per child.
Who paid?
The school fund.
How relevant was it to the curriculum?
It tied in perfectly with 5-14 environmental studies and contained some aspects of personal and social development, as well as showing what each individual could do to help.
What was so good about them?
It was pitched at exactly the right level of interest and understanding for the children. It was well acted and well written and had a kind of pantomime element with the children shouting out answers at the cast. The children enjoyed it enormously and we are going to have the company back again this year.
Venture Productions, tel: 0151 708 0037