Hopelands Great Indian Take-Over

AS PART of the school’s annual Global Awareness Project, this year focusing on India, all 86 pupils at Hopelands Preparatory School, together with some very willing staff, descended on Stonehouse’s best Indian Restaurant ‘The Gate Of India’.

Having taken over the entire restaurant the children were treated to a fabulous feast, including dishes such as Lamb Handi Haripli and Chicken Dansak – a new experience for quite a few of them and one which really helped the children to relate to the peoples and places they are studying.

As well as getting a literal taste of India, the pupils have spent the week engaging in a variety of workshops including dance, drama and music, with a visiting professional musician, Andy Warne from Sound Roadshows, teaching the children to play a huge variety of Indian musical instruments.

Andy performed music on the Sitar and let the children have a hands-on experience playing them.

The Moghul war horns were the most impressive!

Mrs Lizzie O’Dell, Head of Music and French, ‘Andy captivated the children and adults alike with his knowledge, making the whole learning experience both fun but very informative.’

In drama Years 3, 4 and 5 focused on the background and celebrations of Diwali, one of India’s most popular festivals.

The Year 3 pupils also dressed in Indian costumes, supplied by The Wilson Gallery, Cheltenham, as part of their outreach workshops and looked, according to Mr Evans, ‘positively splendid’.