KS2 Leavers’ musicals – SAME Magazine Article Spring 2016

As children prepare to move to secondary school, what better way to round-off and celebrate their time at primary school than with a musical production? And there can be no better subject for them to perform and sing about than the characters they have met and the events they have experienced along the way.

To this end, Edgy Productions publishes a range of musicals which take us on a laughter-packed and emotional journey through our years at primary school. With tongues firmly in cheeks, yet with the right amount of sensitivity, titles such as ‘Goodbye, My Friend‘, ‘Do You Remember The First Time?‘, ‘The Next Big Step‘ and ‘A Blast From The Past‘ cover every topic imaginable – sports days, parents’ evenings, school trips, inspections by the nit-nurse, telling the time, school dinners, borrowing undersized PE kit when you’ve forgotten yours……the list is endless. They provide a trip down memory lane for the audience and performers alike and give the children, parents and staff a final chance to say ‘goodbye’ and ‘thank you’ to each other, whilst re-living and celebrating the school experience through the content of the scripts and song lyrics.

When that content is specifically about school life, children are able to bring something of themselves to the parts they play and the words they sing. They get to be a bit cheeky, sending up teachers, school staff and parents in a light-hearted way. It’s this chance to reflect and to take on a slightly more adult role that makes these sorts of musicals such a valuable way to end the primary school years.

It is not uncommon for many friendship groups to be split when children move on to secondary school, so a production can often be the last time everyone is brought together in front of the community. The celebratory sense of closure it offers gives the chance to end the year on a real high note, reinforcing relationships and bonds in quite a powerful way. And, of course, the chance to say goodbye and look back on the last chapter is vital in every transition we make in life – none more so than leaving primary school to start secondary school. A musical production that celebrates the primary school years, as well as being a lot of fun, helps focus the thoughts and feelings that this transition can evoke in not only pupils, but also their teachers and parents.

Over half of all UK schools have performed an Edgy Productions leavers’ musical and the feedback from children, parents and teachers has been overwhelming. The song Goodbye My Friend, the closing number from the musical of the same name, is now a staple in thousands of primary schools, being the song of choice for the final assembly of the year. Primary school is about more than just providing children with an education – it’s also about providing them with memories they can cherish in later life. Cementing their experiences in a leavers’ musical will go a long way to making sure this happens.

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