The beat goes on when it comes to learning new skills for even the youngest children at Newington Community Primary School in Ramsgate.
Pupils from Nursery and Reception classes are studying everything to do with Africa this term and have already got into the swing of the topic with a visit to see the award winning musical The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre in London’s West End.
As part of their learning back in the classroom the children explored the rhythmic and creative world of primal drumming.
Working with Rich Latham from Rich Rhythms each young drummer learnt a series of call and response beats on traditional African djembe drums.
They very quickly got into the groove and were soon pounding out a variety of patterns and exploring the sounds they made together in a drumming circle.
Head teacher Cliff Stokes said: “The drumming workshop was a big hit with the children.
“They sang and danced to their own drumming accompaniment, and explored the powerful beats of traditional African songs, keeping to the beat and remembering to count in time as they sang.
“The workshop was also great for encouraging creativity, self-expression and co-ordination through rhythm. It was a fantastic way to expand their learning skills and was a perfect counterpoint to the various aspects of learning about Africa and the various themes that they are investigating via The Lion King.
“Active learning like this really makes an impression on our children and it gives them the opportunity to feel and experience what they are discovering about the topic.”
