Leeds' theatres nominated for child friendly award

The Learning Team at Leeds Grand Theatre & City Varieties Music Hall has been nominated for its ‘overall contribution to child friendly Leeds’ in the Child Friendly Leeds Awards to be held this Thursday 30^th January.

The award is to recognise an organisation, group or individual making a big difference to children and young people in Leeds. 

“We’re absolutely delighted to have been nominated for this award,” says Rachel Lythe, Head of Learning at the theatres. “The team work hard to create an exciting and engaging programme for young people - it’s great to be recognised externally.” 

Since 2007 the Learning Team has developed a unique heritage learning programme across both the theatres and as a result over 50,000 people have discovered forgotten stories, participated in learning events, performed in project work, come along to theatre talks and explored behind the scenes of the historical venues.

“We work with schools and colleges to engage young people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds,” Rachel continues. “The theatres are a fantastic resource to inspire learning about the arts and the world of work. They come to learn about Victorian life, we look at design and architecture and we regularly invite young people to explore behind the stage to learn how the buildings work today.” 

The City Varieties also runs a Youth Theatre for ages 8 to 21. It aims to facilitate the development of strong, confident, versatile young performers and give them opportunity to work with professional artists from the industry gain a realistic idea of how the business is run. 

To find out more about learning activities and events at the theatres visit www.cityvarieties.co.uk or www.leedsgrandtheatre.com.