Artist Paul Maheke led a week of performative workshops designed for Year 5 and 6 students to explore alternative school futures.
Participating groups used collaborative movement, drawings and conversation to reflect on their experiences of primary school, and explored their expectations about moving to secondary school. Using spaces around the Serpentine, young people articulated their feelings about transition and mapped out their visions for a perfect school.
Research shows that the majority of children in the UK will have some concerns about the transition from primary to secondary school, and that one in five will significantly struggle; this can have an impact on children’s self-esteem and emotional wellbeing, in addition to affecting their academic performance.
The Studio: The Perfect School? builds out from Maheke’s 2015 Moving Up Commission, a collaboration with children and teachers at Gateway Academy in North Westminster. Through Moving Up we aim to support children in their transition to secondary school by creating a temporary space where they can develop tools to work together and support one another.
The Studio: The Perfect School? was free and open to groups visiting from state-funded schools from the Greater London area.
Curated by:
Alex Thorp, Curator, Education
Jemma Egan, Assistant Curator, Education
