The end of an era for unwavering Eskdale School students

Towards the end of 2023, Eskdale school embraced their final visit from The Ideas Foundation workshops. Designed to connect young, isolated creatives, and combat the lingering aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic, pupils threw themselves into the learner designed “Creating Connections” programme. With facilitators Adisa Stephen-Ezeocha, Michael Cockerham, Tom Martin, and Ben Worth providing key skills for students to empower themselves, students learnt how to express themselves through new channels. By beginning to consolidate important employability skills and nurturing innate abilities, the students were able to document the unprecedented changes to their community in a novel way.

Generously funded by UCB and The King Boudauin Foundation, with an armoury of equipment loaned by Canon UK, the young creatives were able to get invaluable hands-on experience, guided by professional photographers, a poet, and an actor; skills for expression, communication, and documentation, allowed students to articulate their stories and emotions with clarity and depth.

This charitable community built on collaboration meant Eskdale students had a unique educational experience. Armed with wellbeing skills, creative tools, industry contacts, and memories, the closure of Eskdale became more than an end of an era for their students. For these young people, they can begin a new chapter with the tools need to navigate the complexities of the world.

“I was blown away by their maturity talking about mental health and wellbeing. The workshops really brough the kids out of their shells. There’s a need to have time and space to be creative without a set of criteria and tick list of what they have to achieve and being on task all the time. Standing back and letting them do it, they came up with the goods. The workshops showed what education could be.” - Ian Bloor, Eskdale School, Whitby

Their creative efforts will be showcased at the Pannett gallery towards the end of this month. The 1-week exhibition, running from 21st-26th May 2024, will be a stark reminder to the Whitby community (and wider) that all students have potential. Through workshop feedback, students often express that they are not unmotivated, rather they haven’t learnt the skills to become motivated. What is important is student access to connections, community, and resources. Charities, such as The Ideas Foundation aim to bring these tools and work experiences to broaden the perspectives of young people, regardless of where they come from.

“Creativity is an emotional outlet, and it is no accident that society’s most exciting creatives are often very young… the process can be fraught with its own difficulties as they struggle to turn their ideas into visual realities. The Ideas Foundation gives them a chance to do just that – using facilitators to help them bring their ideas into the world.” Michael Cockerham, facilitator, Creative Advisor, and photographer

As more schools close, or merge, students will increasingly require the tools to manage these unprecedented times, their own productivity, and wellbeing. The “Creating Connections” project will always remain a blueprint for those who choose to pay attention. The outcomes of the “Belonging” Exhibition demonstrates what happens when we collectively rally around our youth to nurture a New Creative Class.

School Attendance in England 2024, House of Commons Research Briefing