Information for Schools
SCHOOLS AT DARLINGTON HIPPODROME
Darlington Hippodrome aims to make sure school and college age children and young people have access to the best cultural experiences and opportunities through engagement with the venue.
A VISIT TO THE THEATRE
We firmly believe that theatre can inspire and ignite young people’s imaginations like no other art form. Darlington Hippodrome offers a quality programme of theatre with a number of shows made specifically for children and young people from the best national touring theatre companies, including the acclaimed Birmingham Stage and The Touring Consortium Theatre Company. Reduced price tickets for school groups alongside one free teacher ticket with every 10 booked are available where possible. Some of these shows offer workshops, learning resource packs and post-show Q&As, to support learning and engagement. Please visit our what’s on for schools page for information about shows and education resources available this season for schools.
EDUCATION SPACE
The restoration of Darlington Hippodrome has seen the creation of a dedicated space for creative learning, as well as a home for our youth theatre and dance classes within the building. Our new Education Space means that schools attending shows at Darlington Hippodrome can also now take part in workshops on-site where available.
ONLINE HERITAGE LEARNING RESOURCES
As part of our plans to help young people access the theatre’s heritage and history, teachers can now access our downloadable heritage learning resource packs, which provide a number of schemes of work for schools to follow. These can be adapted to suit a number of key stages, and explore a variety of subject areas, all with the aim of raising literacy, inspiring children’s imaginations and connecting them to magical story of Darlington Hippodrome. Please visit our Heritage Resource page for more information.
HERITAGE DISCOVERY BOXES
Teachers can now booked our Heritage Discovery Boxes, filled with objects and artefacts from the theatre's past to inspire learning and engagement in the classroom. These discovery boxes will complement the online heritage learning resources detailed above. Three boxes will be available exploring different themes. Please visit our Discovery Box page for more information.
TOURS OF THE VENUE
To complement their theatre visit or as a standalone activity, tours of the building can be arranged that introduce children and young people to the theatre's unique story, and it what was like to attend the theatre in the early 1900s. Tours can also be arranged that focus on technical theatre and what’s involved in staging a show. Tours are priced at £50 per school or college group.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Darlington Hippodrome now offers young people the chance to undertake their work experience at the venue. Please visit our work experience page for more details.
GALLERIES
We now have three dedicated gallery spaces for schools to visit. Our ground floor gallery space focusses on the heritage of the venue and documents our restoration. Our first floor gallery space is a gallery dedicated to work by and for children and young people. Our second floor gallery space is dedicated to the heritage of pantomime and its importance for Darlington Hippodrome. Please visit our galleries page for more details.
YOUTH THEATRE AND DANCE CLASSES
Perhaps you have a student who is interested in developing their theatre or dance skills, or perhaps a young person who would benefit by gaining confidence and self-esteem through taking part in these classes? Please see our Youth Theatre and Dance pages for more information.
ARTS AWARD
Darlington Hippodrome is an Arts Award Supporter venue. This means that we provide a number of opportunities to help young people achieve their Arts Award. Arts Award is a nationally recognised qualification for young people, to develop their skills as young artists/arts leaders. By engaging with any of the opportunities listed above, young people can complete elements of their Arts Award. We also can provide support to organisations who are working with young people to achieve their Arts Award.
For more information
To find out more about the learning opportunities available, please contact the Audience Development and Participation Officer on 01325 405510 or email christopher.wellings@darlington.gov.uk.