Culture brings cohesion to town's communities

The arts have not been kind to Slough.

From Sir John Betjeman imploring "come friendly bombs, and fall on Slough!" to Ricky Gervais's mockumentary, "The Office," the Berkshire town is depicted as having little to raise the spirits.

So it is perhaps not surprising to be told in Slough, "arts participation is among the lowest in the country."

Those are the words of Annabel Cook, co-CEO of the charity Artswork, which is in town to run a drama workshop with children from Grove Academy in Chalvey on Slough's outskirts.

If the town lacks cultural capital, then Chalvey lacks capital in hard cash terms.

It is the most deprived ward in the town, according to Slough Borough Council.

Twenty-seven per cent of local children are at risk of living in poverty and male life expectancy is 74.5 years - four years lower than the figure for the UK as a whole.

But as the workshop gets under way, it seems the youngsters taking part are determined to smash all the stereotypes.

That is just what is needed as Slough bids to become the UK's first Town of Culture.

Artswork's Cook said whether it was successful or not, bidding for the title would change the town.

"It's such a powerful tool for regeneration, for job creation, so these type of innovations are really important for towns to go through," she said.

The arts are transformative for the school and its pupils too, according to Grove's head of creative arts, Sapnaa Chotai.

In a classroom decorated with pictures and other works produced by pupils, stands the figure of an elephant decorated with designs from the cultures of all the children who attend the school.

"We are all about bringing the community together," she explained, adding that art was a great driver of "cultural cohesion".

The arts allow pupils to "all feel part of a wider project".

"They can work together, maybe with children they don't know," she added.

"But most important, they are exposed to the arts, which is so important for children when often their parents are too busy with work."

Back in the drama studio, the children are the faces behind the statistics, in a part of Slough where 55% of residents were born outside the UK.

During the course of the session, they have been asked to consider how important creativity is for a range of careers.

Then, they had to apply their own creativity, to improvise dramatic scenes using a series of random props, from a head massager to a shelf bracket.

But as it draws to a close, it is clear the workshop has been more than an escape from the classroom.

"I've found I can express myself in ways I can't in other lessons," explains pupil Raquel.

"I've also learned to work with people, I don't usually work with."

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