Manchester pupils in BBC Blast

St Paul's pupil in BBC Blast

Staff and pupils at Saint Paul’s Catholic High School in Wythenshawe, Manchester, took part in BBC Blast last week. Blast aims to inspire and motivate young people to develop their creative talents and showcase their art, dance, film, music, writing, and fashion ideas.

Year 10 and 11 Expressive and Performing Arts students participated in several creative workshops with professionals and practitioners. These workshops will form part of the pupils’ assessments and is part of the BTEC course for the students to work with professionals and learn about the industry.

BBC Blast is the BBC's network for creative teenagers. It provides access to mentors both online and at free events and workshops across the UK. The website specifically caters for 13 to 19 year olds.

The pupils took part in several workshops including T-shirt painting, stage combat, songwriting, street dance, graffiti art, slam poetry and stage management.

“BBC Blast can help to turn the pupils’ ideas into reality,” explained Ms Rebecca Coyle from Saint Paul’s. “It inspired their creativity in a number of areas and increased their passion for music, dance, art, and drama.”

Last year, 170,000 teenagers got involved in the Blast national tour. At each event, Blast builds an mobile creative village, with digital workshop spaces and a performance area. Teenagers use professional equipment with advice and support from BBC staff and industry professionals. Some of the workshops that will be on offer include: Animation, Film-making, DJing, Music, Fashion, Photography, Radio and Dance.

“The pupils really enjoyed their participation in BBC Blast,” said Mr Wiktor Daron, Head Teacher at Saint Paul’s. “The series of workshops provided inspiration, several pupils discovered new talents and it allowed them to sharpen their creative skills.”