Circus at Beech Lodge School

In May 2019 we were fortunate enough to have members of the Lunar Circus in Australia join us for a two week immersive experience at school. We are delighted with the impact that it had on our pupils and our staff and we have recorded our findings into a report which is available to read and download here

We chose to bring circus to Beech Lodge as it is a non-competitive activity that encompasses physical exercise, creativity, self-discipline, teamwork and fun. There are six elements of circus that have been identified as aligning with childhood development:

Self: Individuality, Identity, Image
Fun: Humour, Happiness, Laughter
Risk: Adventure, Courage, Defiance
Dreams: Aspiration, Imagination, Symbolism
Trust: Touch, Co-operation, Sharing
Hard Work:  Persistence, Resilience, Process

For children at Beech Lodge who struggle with many of those elements listed above, learning and performing circus skills has proven to help their development in a variety of ways, and we have many examples of how pupils at the school have benefitted enormously from this experience. Circus has now become an important part of Beech Lodge and will become integrated into our curriculum, as well as a recurring bi-annual event at the school.

Watch this space!