Education
Swamp Circus Trust is an educational charity that uses circus and theatre as tools to develop participants creativity and engage participants in learning to promote personal development and community benefit. With the creative industries growing at a faster rate than any other area of the UK economy there is now widespread recognition of the value of creativity in education.
"Ideas are the raw material of the creative industries. But unlike those for traditional products, we cannot dig them out of the ground or pick them off trees" http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/CEPFeb2008.pdf
Circus Arts in Education
Circus is very effective at engaging young people alienated from traditional forms of education.
Circus skills can be very effective ways to help participants develop concentration, retention, conceptual understanding self-awareness and the process of learning. These can then be applied to more conventional learning situations in the core subjects.
"Creative teaching is enhancing pupils' concentration, memory, motivation, communication and motor skills" www.teachernet.gov.uk
Performing arts are an effective tool for enriching the curriculum. Circus is a way of including arts into education that is different from the norm of dance and drama in schools.
"Investing in the arts can transform schools. The arts can raise standards, change attitudes, improve behaviour and increase the quality of teaching and learning."
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.
For more information on the benefits of arts in education go to: www.qca.org.uk/artsalive
For funding advice for arts in education look at: www.qca.org.uk/artsalive/steps_to_success/help_outside_ funding.htm
Research has proven the benefits of circus skills in Educational Programmes. It has been successfully used as an educational tool, and has been used therapeutically with children at risk.
http://www.circusarts.org.uk/i-want-to/research/youth-circus.php
Circus Theatre
Combined with theatre we have used circus theatre to help young people engage with a range of different subject areas. For example our Science of the Circus project educated participants about Science issues through Circus and theatre. Our Trash show as part of Sheffield City Council Street Force’s Wicked Waste programme educates participants about litter issues through a circus theatre show and related forum theatre workshops.
