Creative Explorers was launched by the Rothschild Foundation in 2019 as part of our evolving place-based funding approach. It brings together local secondary schools and the Bucks cultural sector to explore film and music, and develop pathways into creative careers. The three year project kicked off in January 2020 with the lead partner Resource Productions running the project in partnership with Bucks Music Trust and Pinewood Studios.

Although the year was a challenging one, Resource Productions were able to draw upon the partnership, shared expertise, networks and relationships to respond flexibly and achieve unexpected outcomes. This resulted in an impactful end result for the project, even if delivery was drastically different to what had been originally planned. Overall, the programme was an outright success, engaging with four schools (Mandeville School, Bourne End School, Beaconsfield School and Cressex Community School), 928 students and conducting 39 face-to-face and digital sessions. The schools to whom the Creative Explorers programme was delivered also had some fantastic testimony to share, with the Head of Drama at Bourne End Academy, Will Meadows saying:

“Working with Resource Productions on the Creative Explorers project has been a fantastic opportunity this year. At times, the outlook has looked very bleak for Performing Arts provision in Schools with trips, performances and workshops becoming impossible to run. To have the opportunity to keep students engaged with the practical workshops and careers sessions offered by the Creative Explorers project has been invaluable for our students. Resource productions are always open to ideas, supportive and inspirational and this has allowed our students to keep their horizons open at a time when events in the world would otherwise limit them. At Bourne End Academy we are thankful to Creative Explorers for enabling us to keep delivering the high-quality Performing Arts education that we aspire to.”

Resource Productions and partners are confident they will draw upon the first year’s learnings to inform the subsequent years’ programmes to build a lasting legacy of film and music in the schools they support.