On Thursday 28 June, 110 students from Years 9 to 12 attended a sixth form study experience at the Bowes Museum delivered by top academics from Newcastle University.
The central theme of the event was the legacy of Martin Luther King fifty years since his assassination in 1968. The programme was part of the university’s continued public engagement following the Freedom City 2017 project that commemorated King’s 1967 visit to Newcastle to receive an honorary degree.
Students attended a series of different sessions delivered by eight experts in their field with teaching spaces created around the museum. The theme of the day and the stunning venue provided for an inspirational experience. Surrounded by the frescos in the main picture gallery, students listened to the voices of black Pittsburgh as Dr Ben Houston invited them to explore their responses to King’s death and the urban tumult that followed.
With a Georgian era harpsichord in the corner of the music room providing a link to a time of decorum and convention, students were invited by Dr Nanette De-Jong to break free of the shackles of musical conformity and respond to some scores of free jazz. Gone were notes and standard rhythms as students tried to make sounds in response to colours and shapes in an extraordinary piece of musical improvisation.
In the relative tranquillity of the ceramics conservatory, with the warm June sunshine lighting the incredible vista across the Dale, Professor Sinead Morrissey encouraged students to write their own poetry after studying an anthology created to honour King’s legacy.
In the depths of the education vaults, budding scientists listened as Professor Bernard Golding explained the major advances in medical drug discovery since 1968 and encouraged his audience to strive to develop the next great medical breakthrough in the future.
Global equality, race and the criminal justice system, children’s literature and illustrations as a form of protest and the significance, style and tone of King’s 1963 ‘I have a dream’ speech were the other topics explored.
Dr Simon Henderson, Head of History and Sixth Form, said: “This was the latest in a series of amazing opportunities that our students have access to. We are incredibly grateful that the staff from Newcastle took time out from their busy schedules to come and engage with our students around such a thought-provoking theme. The day was truly inspirational and we look forward to future ventures as a result of our strong connection with the university.”
The event was a collaboration between Teesdale Sixth Form and Newcastle University with pupils from Longfield School in Darlington also in attendance. We'd like to thank everyone involved for delivering such a memorable and unique opportunity for our young people.