Over 250 year 5 and 6 pupils from schools across Gloucestershire and Wiltshire were welcomed to the school across two days for a ‘STOMP’ style workshop held by former cast member of the hit West End Show, Ollie Tunmer. Schools included; Southrop, North Cerney, Powell’s, Cirencester, Coberley, NorthLeach, Minchinhampton, Sherborne, Bibury and Stratton Primaries

Ollie’s Beat Goes On workshops are designed to encourage children to get active, develop musical skills and use music as a way to promote wellbeing for both the individual and the school community.

Gavin Roberts, Head of Juniors at Rendcomb College, said: “Welcoming over 250 children and their families to our school is special. Having a West End star return to host yet another fantastic workshop is always a pleasure and I’m sure will be a highlight of the year.”

Rendcomb College’s Director of Music, Dr Tom Edwards said: “It was a great pleasure to welcome Ollie back for the second year of the Beat Goes On workshop. It was great to see so many returning schools from last year with many new faces joining us to learn and develop new ideas about how music can be made.

“We welcomed over 300 pupils and parents for the final performances across the days with everyone getting involved. The children always enjoy Ollie’s enthusiasm and it shows in their performance and the many smiles that leave us at the end of the day. Thank you to Ollie for another brilliant workshop and we look forward to welcoming even more children next year.”

A returning teacher said: “It is such a fantastic day and a wonderful event for all the children regardless of ability.”

A parent from Powell’s Primary School said he loved the performance: “That was brilliant! What a fantastic theatre and performance. It’s clear the children really enjoyed the day.”

Ollie led warm-ups and taught some basic percussion beats to the children using their hands, feet and mouths. The children also put ideas forward and they composed a routine that they performed to their parents in the afternoon.

The final performance saw Ollie showcase his skills in a solo performance before the pupils took to the stage to showcase the skills they had learnt across the day in front of a packed audience. Ollie also got the audience involved encouraging visiting parents and teachers to get on their feet and follow along with the beats.