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Music Tour (Cornwall)
Enrichment Week 2023: Bands by the sea
Written by (new) Year 11 Work Experience pupils Austin, Gil, Stan, Emily and Charlotte.
On the first day of Enrichment Week 2023 the 28 pupils involved in the Cornwall Music Tour met with the Expressive Arts team in school and the five bands spent the day rehearsing their set lists for the three performances that they would give later in the week. Each band of (new) Year 9 and (new) Year 10 pupils was led by two (new) Year 11 Work Experience pupils, who supported them with tech and logistics. Whilst the Work Experience pupils were learning how to set up a band, the other members of the bands had to come up with a name and a logo: Sound Waves, Release the Geese, Seaside 7 and Turks & Chaos joined the already established Oxford Comma. On that first afternoon each group performed in front of one another and received feedback from peers and teachers on how to improve. Then all the equipment was made ready for the next morning, when we would set off.
On Tuesday morning we packed all the equipment and suitcases on to the coach and set off for Cornwall. We stopped for lunch at a service station (McDonalds being the go-to option), then resumed our journey. Our first destination was the Eden Project, and we were all glad for an opportunity to take a break from the coach trip. We were led to our ‘base’ for the trip in the Science area and were then able to explore. The Eden Project biomes are the main attraction, with one of them holding the largest indoor rainforest in the world.
We hopped back on the coach to the hostel in a rural area of the south coast - the coach just managing to make it down the lane! After unpacking and settling in, we walked down to Hemmick Beach. The water was very cold, but everyone had a good time; not even the torrential downfall on the walk back up the hill could dampen our spirits. We headed back to the hostel for a quick birthday celebration for Gil, then settled in ready for an early get up the next day.
On Wednesday morning we went to Trebah Garden for our first performance. The venue was surrounded by exotic plants and a beautiful sandy beach. All the performances went brilliantly with a cheerful audience to show our talent to. We learned very quickly how to put up the gazebos during the spot of rain!
After this first gig we drove down to Falmouth Event Square for our second performance. Pupils had time to explore the small-town shops whilst the Work Experience Year 11s set up. The performances were brilliant and the backdrop of the yachts and boats in the quay behind us was great. Having worked up an appetite, we went for pizza, where we all sat down for an incredible meal. On the drive back to the youth hostel we were all singing along to songs, finishing off an amazing third day of our fabulous week.
On Thursday we started with a cliff walk overlooking the stunning Porthcurno Beach and up to the famous Minack Theatre. We had the opportunity to look around, take photos and watch a performance of an actor telling the story of how the theatre came to be. We then drove over to the Lands' End bandstand where our 5 bands gave their 3rd performances brilliantly with a fluid audience and vibrant atmosphere for this our final performance.
After this, we were off to the amazing Carbis Bay, near St Ives, where we had a 2-hour watersports session filled with mega stand-up-paddleboards, kayaks, and Bondi rescue where pupils would run into the water and 'rescue' their friends. To end the day we had fish and chips sat on the beach (minding the seagulls). Another amazing day!
On Friday, for the first time of the whole trip, we had a lie-in until 8:15! The Work Experience people also didn’t have to get up early to get breakfast and lunch ready. After packing everything up, we headed to a Cornish pasty-making workshop at Philleigh Way Cookery School where we made pasties and enjoyed some lovely Cornish scones with jam and cream... the cream was first! We took a short walk around the fields behind whilst our pasties were in the oven.
We were told they'd be too hot to eat straight away, but we couldn't resist and all tucked straight in! After lunch, we drove to Perrenporth Beach. We spent our £80 made from busking on an ice cream here, although we had to eat it pretty quickly due to the sun and wind! We had plenty of time to play in the sea and on the beach with a football, before starting our extremely long journey back home with a small stop at the services. There was of course plenty of singing on the way home as well!
‘I really enjoyed our trip! There were so many fun activities, watersports was the best bit for me. My favourite venue to perform was Land’s End’. Freya (new Year 9)
‘I loved performing in front of lots of people. It was great that the audience congratulated us afterwards. Some of the views we saw were so impressive. It was a great week.’ Toby (new Year 9)
Mrs Gleed, Head of Expressive Arts, commented: 'What a week! Busking, beaches and incredible views! Our fantastic group of pupils were a delight to spend the week with. They really did the school proud with their brilliant performances. It was clear to see they enjoyed themselves and developed their performance craft throughout the week.'
The school received some lovely feedback from members of the public who came across our pupils on their tour, including this: 'We visited Trebah Gardens yesterday and by luck enjoyed a concert given by 20 or so pupils of your school which we enjoyed immensely. It was lovely to see and meet a few of the talented youngsters who performed. They are a credit to the school. Congratulations to them and their teachers and we hope their mini tour proves equally successful at Lands End.'