Pupils get into carnival spirit (From Gazette Series)

Pupils get into carnival spirit

YEAR 9 pupils at Katharine Lady Berkeley's School celebrated their passage from Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 4 with a carnival. To promote the carnival, seven pupils produced a newsletter detailing the events that were to take place. The editorial team - Robert Whittle, Joe Boyd, Liam Dawe, Josh Griffiths, Nick Bird, Charlie Ball and Henry Ball - have now written a review for the Gazette.

THE idea for the Carnival came from the art, music and drama staff at the school.

The word Carnival comes from the Latin 'goodbye to the flesh', so the Year 9 Carnival was an opportunity to start afresh as they said goodbye to Key Stage 3 and junior school and say hello to Key Stage 4 and senior school.

Mrs Thornton, head of Year 9, thought it would be a great chance for the year group to get together and have some fun.

The school enlisted the help of Ropert (CORR) from AKOMA in Gloucester, who has helped organise many carnivals including Notting Hill.

Originally from the Caribbean, Ropert came to "help fire people's imaginations", getting students into the carnival mood by giving advice, playing instruments and telling stories.

The masks and costumes contributed much to the magical experience. Some mask designs represented ideas and places.

Pupil Joshua Willey explained: "I chose this idea for my mask because I have relatives living in Barbados."

Pupils used body art in vibrant carnival colours to stand out. Inspiration came from the natural world - animals and flowers in particular.

Many pupils prepared colourful carnival foods; one hungry person munched his way through seven cakes and two fruit kebabs.

Carnival entertainment included Reggae music and dancing, which attracted the crowd's attention.

Bob Marley once said "One good thing about music is when it hits you, you feel no pain", and pupils certainly seemed to forget their surroundings once things got underway.

Retro Rhythms, one of the bands created by the Music group, produced pounding beats throughout the procession.

Performers described the music as immense. It provided atmosphere and reverberated around the performers during the procession.

Dancers performed brilliant routines, stirring up the atmosphere among the students who joined in with the beat, clapping and cheering.

Storytellers wrote and dramatised masterful tales based on myths and legends of Carnival, performed wearing bright and colourful Caribbean costumes.

A media team promoted Carnival events through film, radio and newsletter. The film group created a behind the scenes documentary as well a film of the Carnival itself, which will be shown in school later this term. The radio programme and newsletter were also very popular.

The Carnival was a superb experience for all involved - staff and pupils. One pupil summed up the whole mood of the event, "It's been great fun working on something so different and exciting - we've really enjoyed it."