Stow College

A Day Out in Strathclyde Country Park

Stow College Theatre Arts students recently served up an entertainment feast when they organised a performance and picnic for local schoolchildren in Strathclyde Country Park. The kind-hearted NC Theatre Arts students held the event, entitled ‘Teddy Bear’s Picnic’, with all proceeds from the day going to St Andrew’s Hospice, Airdrie.

At the annual one-day event, 2,000 sponsored North Lanarkshire schoolchildren visited the Park to be entertained and treated to a special Nursery Rhyme trail by the student actors. The students took charge of all elements of the performance process, from costume design, decision making and project planning, script writing, make-up design and show execution - skills honed in their theoretical course.

The students entertained the primary school children with old favourites like Three Bears and Alice in Wonderland in full costume regalia, getting the children involved through an entertaining mixture of stories, songs and interactive games. St Andrew’s Hospice were highly congratulatory of the students’ efforts on the day, with the event hoping to make even more than last year’s total of £45,000.

Louise O’Donnel, School Liaison Co-ordinator for St Andrew’s Hospice, commented: “The student performances were superb, the best yet. We could not offer the level of care and support for our patients and their families without the support of Stow College.”

David Hughes, Head of Department of Music and Creative Industries at Stow College, commented: “The day was a resounding success, and the students did extremely well in organising and executing the event. This demonstrates the creative talent at Stow College and we are proud to be associated with such a worthy cause as St Andrew’s Hospice.”