John Hampden runs away to the circus!

 JOHN Hampden Primary school in Thame saw the Jackson hall transform into a big top as we all got carried away with the circus for Arts Week 2020!

We felt the sawdust beneath our feet and smelt the grease paint and popcorn, being lured in by our very own ringmaster, and mesmerised by the Hampden-made troupe of performers.

We cheered as the strong man, sweating with the effort, lifted his huge barbell. We laughed at the clown as he juggled with ease and gasped and held our breath as the trapeze artists soared through the air above our heads. We were in awe of the delicate balance of the circus elephant on his ball and marvelled at the one armed contortionist. We trembled at the fierce lion who was under the spell of our very own lion tamer, Mr Eyre. We debated the moral dilemma of animals in circuses both now and in the past.

It was a wondrous experience full of excitement and colour, with children from Nursery to Year 6, spending time in the hall together creating art!

We were aided by our very own circus troupe of helpers (nearly 50 helpers – thank you to all those who volunteered!), parents, grandparents, governors, carers, artists, teachers, teaching assistants, old and new and Year 6 pupils (who helped us in our moments of need!), who volunteered to support us in creating our circus dream. What an amazing community spirit JHS has!

The John Hampden PTFA funded the week, with their usual, generous donation which enabled the school to provide a wealth of experiences and resources for the children to enjoy. The school also provided a real-life circus experience with Rob the juggler from Circus Allstars, coming in on Thursday to entertain and teach circus skills to all the children. 

The Circus Arts Week Quiz saw the children challenged to identify a dazzling troupe of circus performers created by JHS staff. Each performer was accompanied by clues to guide the children in their guesses as to which circus act was which member of staff- giving hints as to the staff artist, for a whole school competition.

Well done to Amalie Coe and Evie Dent for their winning entries! Well done as well to Nahiyan Chowdhury and Megan Booth and for being crowned the winners of the Artsweek shield for their participation this year.

 At the end of the week, the star struck JHS friends and family were guided into the Jackson Hall big top to be astounded and captivated by our circus performance at the Friday Artsweek Fair-Trade Café. 

So, wipe the clown make-up from your face and take off your ringmaster top hat. The performance may be over, but we have the JHS big top to bring back the memories for weeks to come, as well as our time lapse video of the events.

Where will our next art adventure take us? Send your ideas for next year to Ms Nichols! 

CONTRIBUTED by Jackie Nichols (Arts Coordinator)