Repton Al Barsha's Creativity Festival tackles climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic

• The virtual festival welcomed schools from across Dubai, with 48 pupils participating in the festival.

UAE: Repton Al Barsha (formerly known as Foremarke School Dubai), part of the prestigious Repton Family of Schools in the UAE, hosted their annual Creativity Festival on Thursday, 25^th February 2021. The theme of this year’s festival focused on current climate crises and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic facing the world today. Pupils from Years 3 to Years 6 from schools across Dubai participated in the virtual festival.

The participating student teams presented 3-minute creative responses to one of the five climate crisis situations: the melting ice caps, deforestation in the Amazon, wildfires across Australia and California, pollution in our oceans and the Covid-19 pandemic. The creative collaboration was based on three disciplines – Art, Music and Digital Presentation.

Zoe Woolley, Headmistress of Repton Al Barsha noted, “Through the technological elements of the three disciplines, the festival highlighted the significant impact digital literacy has on raising awareness about global issues. As an Apple Distinguished School, we are proud to offer digital literacy as part of our core curriculum. At Repton Al Barsha, we are committed to creating responsible citizens of the future.”

It is well known that a picture speaks a thousand words. This was the foundation for the first discipline of the festival, Art. Participants were encouraged to express their creative process through different artistic techniques. Pupils used digital applications such as ‘Tayasui Sketches Schoo‪l’ to formulate their creative visions through sketches, mind maps, notes and a collection of images or colour that they can use to help create their final and visually impactful responses.

After formulating their vision, the second discipline showcased how pupils expressed themselves through the universal language of Music, composing musical pieces that invoked mood and meaning surrounding the climate crises. The young learners recorded their performances through a combination of traditional and digital media, which included the use of musical instruments and digital audio workstation such as GarageBand. The final discipline, Digital Presentation, allowed each team to uniquely and methodically express their talents and ideas through an innovative presention. Participants expressed themselves by creating multilayered Art and Music responses, blending live and recorded pieces through applications such as, iMovie, Clips, Procreate and Green Screen by Do Ink.

The judging panel consisted of multi-award-winning Emirati filmmaker Hasan Kiyani, CEO of ONE MOTO, Adam Ridgeway and Sherifa Aly, Education Business Unit Manager at MDS Computers Technical Systems|Apple Practice. The judges examined the various submissions and selected the Best in Music, Best in Art, Best Presenting and Best Final Presentation. Additionally, ONE MOTO will select one of the winning teams to support the sustainable firm’s next environmental awareness campaign.

“Repton Al Barsha’s Creativity Festival was successful in so many ways. As a virtual event, the festival was able to connect with external schools, bringing pupils and teachers together, making it a very important occasion. The festival demonstrated the wide ability of all the children involved and how they were able to communicate a message of hope! It is reassuring to know that our children are actively aware of the current global crises, and as human beings it is our moral duty to help resolve these issues. The children demonstrated skills in art, music and presenting to communicate and tell stories. The results of the day were incredible, but most importantly the children had a wonderful day, full of enthusiasm, engagement, discussion, excitement and creativity. I would like to thank all the participating pupils for their hard work and dedication towards creatively raising awareness on these issues,” concludes Aidan Godwin, Head of Digital Literacy at Repton Al Barsha.

For further information on Repton Al Barsha’s Creativity Festival, please visit the Repton Al Barsha website: https://www.reptonalbarsha.org/

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About Repton Al Barsha

Repton Al Barsha, situated in Dubai Science Park in Al Barsha South, is one of the leading British schools for children aged three to 18. Foremarke School Dubai, soon to be known as Repton Al Barsha, is part of Evolvence Knowledge Investments (EKI) and the Repton Family of Schools in the UAE.

Repton Al Barsha welcomed its first students in 2013 and mirrors the Repton Family of School’s belief in traditional values, one-to-one pastoral care and the overall holistic development of a child.  

The curriculum follows the UK National Curriculum for England, enhanced with the elements of the ISEB curriculum and is designed to meet the rigorous standards expected for 11+ and Common Entrance examinations. Repton Al Barsha promotes inclusivity of both children with special needs and gifted students.

The school features a large campus with outstanding facilities and amenities that contribute towards a child’s development beyond the classroom. Repton Al Barsha is an accredited member of the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools (IAPS) and an 'IAPS World Hub School'. It was the first school in the UAE, and only the second school globally, to have been given this prestigious status. It has also been recognised as an Apple Distinguished School for 2018-2021 for its use of technology and compelling learning environment that engages students and enhances learning across all of its year groups.

© Press Release 2021