This was sent in by Margaret Smith, Cultural Ambassador at Cedars School.

Cedars School has been successful in its bid to become a specialist sports college from September 2007.

We are one of only 16 special schools in the country to achieve this, and the only one in the north of England. Pupils are being given the opportunity to design a new logo for the school by way of a competition. Our aim is to raise whole school achievement and develop a healthy lifestyle through sport.

On Thursday 8th February pupils from key stages 3 and 4 gave a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The People’s Theatre in Newcastle as part of the Shakespeare Schools Festival. Some pupils formed a wind ensemble and wrote their own music for the play, with the assistance of Steve Barker from Gateshead Schools Music Service. Twenty six pupils were involved in the performance, which was a great success.

We have been successful in receiving Artists in Schools funding from the Council’s Arts Development Team, which we used to support a project on Africa in the Primary Department. A portion of the money was spent on the services of Arts Isiziba, who provided resources for a variety of activities, such as mask making and wall hangings. A musician called Fanwell came each Wednesday for four weeks to teach African drumming, singing and dancing to the whole school. The project culminated in an exciting and colourful performance for parents and friends.