What a Week: Creativity at the Pre-Prep

Pre-Prep pupils enjoyed a fantastic Creative Arts Week, participating in a wide range of activities as each day saw a dedicated focus on a particular Creative Art. The theme of the week was “The Body”, with each day’s activities focusing on a different skill that the pupils could develop over the course of the week. A key inspiration was the work of artist Henry Fraser, who after an accident was paralysed from the neck down, but who has now become an artist, writer and public speaker, painting with his mouth to create his art.

The week began with French Day, which you can read more about here. As well as developing their linguistic skills by working with the Year 6 Language Ambassadors from the Prep School, the pupils were able to learn some traditional French dancing; an experience that they threw themselves into with great enthusiasm.

Tuesday was Art Day, with a plethora of different artistic creations being brought to life, using materials from mod roc to pipe cleaners and inspired by famous artists including Edvard Munch, Claude Monet and Gustav Klimt. EYFS even created artwork using their own feet instead of paintbrushes! The result of their hard work was a wide variety of different types of artwork, from collages of landscapes to pipe cleaner figures and even their own masks. Importantly, the range of artistic activities allowed the pupils to improve their wellbeing, self-expression and communication as well as developing their cognitive, social-emotional and multisensory skills.

On Wednesday, it was time for Drama Day, which saw the children developing their non-verbal communication skills. In an energetic workshop with Simon, the children got involved in a range of drama games and scenarios where they focussed on expressing themselves using facial expressions and body language, creating a sense of teamwork, building confidence, learning about appropriate responses and self-control as well as developing creativity and having fun!

It was all about Music on Thursday, as each year group concluded a brilliant week by learning and then performing a dance to a section of I Just Can’t Wait to be King from The Lion King. The routine included body percussion and tap-dancing sounds. Miss Thomas recorded each year group’s dance section to combine them into a whole-school video performance of the dance, available to watch below!

Our Pre-Prep children enjoyed an energetic, confidence-boosting tap workshop last week to help celebrate Creative Arts Week. Two of our Berkhamsted staff team members, who are ex-professional tap dancers, helped out and shared their expertise on the day. We are so lucky! pic.twitter.com/BOjtTkCJqD

— BerkoPrePrep (@BerkoPrePrep) February 6, 2023

The week was a brilliant experience for the pupils, helping to develop their creativity and to try new things. It also highlighted the importance of creative arts subjects to the pupils, not only in providing them with lots of fun, but also in their development too. The week gave pupils the chance to develop their problem-solving abilities, literacy, fine and gross motor skills, connection and understanding. These are essential skills for a modern world which pupils can apply to all areas of learning and carry forwards in the rest of their lives too.

It was a very memorable week and a big thank you to all involved in organising such a wonderful and important celebration of the creative arts for the Pre-Prep.