This Summer term has been another incredibly exciting one for Team Bigfoot North. Across the North East, North West and Yorkshire, we’ve worked with more schools than ever before, delivering everything from immersive storytelling experiences and creative performances to workshops exploring some of the biggest issues facing young people today, including anti-racism, knife crime and wellbeing.
Alongside welcoming new schools, we’ve also loved returning to many familiar faces, building lasting relationships with pupils and staff and continuing to use creativity to inspire, educate and spark important conversations.
Celebrating 100 Years of Sir David Attenborough
This term gave us the wonderful opportunity to celebrate the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough – someone whose passion for the natural world continues to inspire us.
To mark this special milestone, we created a brand new workshop celebrating Sir David’s extraordinary achievements while exploring the importance of conservation. Young people stepped into the roles of Sanctuary Workers and Conservationists, investigating the challenges facing wildlife today before designing and presenting their own campaign to protect an endangered species.
Alongside learning about environmental issues, pupils developed persuasive speaking, teamwork and critical thinking skills as they discovered how even small actions can make a big difference.
“Thank you for a great day of workshops. Our children thoroughly enjoyed their day and learnt lots about Sir David Attenborough.” – Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Wythenshawe
Creative Residencies, After School Clubs and CPD
While many of our programmes see us spending a day or two in school, our Creative Residencies and After School Clubs allow us to become part of the school community over a much longer period.
Each week in the North East, our team delivers two after school clubs alongside a creative residency in an SEND school, giving young people the opportunity to develop confidence, creativity and performance skills over a number of weeks.
At Woodlawn School, Hannah has been working with pupils to devise an original performance inspired by the topics and issues that matter most to them. Across our residencies, young people explore drama alongside music, art and other creative forms, building skills while discovering the joy of expressing themselves through the arts.
This term also saw Steph and Hannah deliver a creative CPD session for SEND teachers and support staff at Benton Dene. Sharing practical ideas and strategies for using creativity with SEND pupils, the session was packed with hands-on activities, discussion and plenty of laughter. We loved the opportunity to share our expertise with colleagues working in specialist education and hope everyone left feeling inspired to try something new in their own classrooms.
Watching these projects grow week by week, seeing pupils flourish in confidence, and supporting school staff to develop their own creative practice is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do.
Africa Reborn on Tour!
One of the highlights of the term was seeing Africa Reborn head out on tour across Yorkshire, with our brilliant Bigfooter Papi bringing this powerful storytelling experience to schools across the region.
Pupils journeyed through the rich cultures, history and folklore of Africa. Along the way they laughed, joined in with interactive storytelling and explored moments of joy, resilience and reflection, including the impact of the transatlantic slave trade.
The response from schools has been fantastic, with pupils fully immersed from beginning to end and leaving with a deeper appreciation of Africa’s stories, cultures and history.
“All the children were engaged from the moment it began. The energy and storytelling enthralled the children, who also loved how interactive it was.” – Dishforth Airfield Primary School, Thirsk
New for Summer 2026 – Anti Racism Workshops for KS2
One of the programmes we’ve been most excited to launch this term is our brand new Anti-Racism workshop for KS2.
For a long time, schools have told us they wanted an engaging, age-appropriate way to explore racism, identity, fairness and belonging with their pupils. We’re delighted to now be able to offer a programme that creates a safe, supportive space for these important conversations.
Using drama, discussion and creative activities, pupils explore topics including prejudice, bias and discrimination, while developing the confidence and vocabulary to challenge racism respectfully and become active allies. Rather than simply raising awareness, the workshop encourages young people to reflect, ask questions and think critically about the role they can play in creating inclusive communities.
Although we’ve only just launched the programme, the response from schools has been incredibly encouraging, and we’re looking forward to delivering many more workshops throughout July and into the new academic year.
“Our Year 5 and Year 6 pupils were captivated and so engaged and inspired during the workshop and afterwards too! The Bigfooter was honest with the children, reassured them that they might feel a little uncomfortable (and that’s okay), and also gave staff the confidence to continue the discussion around anti-racism following the workshop.”
– St Joseph’s Primary, Wetherby
Game On! World Cup workshops
With the FIFA Club World Cup kicking off this summer, we launched our brand new Game On! workshop, taking pupils on an interactive journey through the history of one of the world’s biggest sporting competitions.
Through drama, roleplay and storytelling, children explored the origins of the tournament, discovered memorable moments from across the decades and considered how football has the power to unite people from different countries and cultures. Along the way, they tackled match-day challenges, worked as a team and developed confidence, communication and critical thinking skills.
Whether pupils were football fanatics or not, the workshop celebrated much more than sport. It explored identity, history and global connections, showing how major sporting events can bring people together and create lasting memories.
Powerful Choices
As we approach the summer holidays, Powerful Choices is always one of our most requested programmes. For many schools, this is the time of year to prepare Upper KS2 pupils for the transition to secondary school, helping them feel confident about making positive choices and knowing where to turn if they ever need support.
Through theatre, drama and spoken word, pupils follow the story of Gabriel as they explore the consequences of knife crime, gang involvement and peer pressure in a safe, age-appropriate environment. Rather than using fear, the programme encourages discussion, empathy and critical thinking, giving young people the opportunity to reflect on real-life situations and the choices they might face.
Our follow-up workshop, Pressure Point, builds on these conversations, exploring friendships, belonging, healthy relationships and how to respond to peer pressure with confidence.
“Very informative session which we will continue to reiterate in different situations and lessons.”
– Lift Caldicotes
“Interactive and thought provoking. Great session and interactive with the children. Informative and lots of opportunity to talk.”
– Ebor Gardens Primary Academy
To find out more about our programmes and discuss how we could work with your school next term please contact northeast@bigfootartseducation.co.uk