WORKSHOPS
The Festival on The Close workshop programme exists to inspire and empower young people, giving them the opportunity to get creative and try something new. Primary and secondary school students from across Warwickshire are invited to take part in a series of schools workshop activities. From science experiments to samba percussion, brain dissections to bagpipes, mechanical engineering to meditation, our varied workshops will offer curious minds the chance to explore a wide range of subjects with world-class artists and practitioners.
This year we are offering a range of ‘immersive’ all day workshops on Tuesday where you can dive a little deeper into an activity you are particularly interested in. To find out more about the Festival on The Close Immersion Day please take a look at the brochure here.
SAMBA DRUMMING
Samba drumming - Welcome to the world of Brazilian drumming; learn about the historical and cultural significances of the genre, before learning to play the various percussive instruments.
PARKOUR
Jump, climb, and move with confidence in this exciting parkour workshop! Explore core skills like vaults, swings, and jumps while building strength, coordination, and creativity.
ROLLER-SKIING
Roller Skiing is the no snow equivalent of cross-country skiing. We teach the basics of cross-country skiing on rollerskis through a variety of games and different balance exercises.
TOTE BAGS
Canvas tote bag design and stenciling; Students will design and create a stunning tote bag using patterned stencils and Posca pens
BAKE OFF: TRUFFLES
The savoury ones and the sweet ones! Taste the truffle mushroom and take part in a bake-off style event making chocolate truffles to take away. You'll learn the classic chef's technique Making a Quenelle. Prizes for the masters!
PHYSICAL THEATRE WITH HIGHLY SPRUNG
Explore the 3 C’s: Contact, Chorus, and Characterisation. This fun, immersive and ensemble-based experience encourages you to think outside the box, building creativity and courage.
BAKE OFF: CELEBRATE THE CHEESECAKE
The classic dessert that comes in a multitude of different shapes, sizes, varieties and flavours. A dessert so good it's on virtually every menu in the country. As well as learning about the cheesecake, there will be a competition to make one.
GE VERNOVA PRESENTS:
STEAMFest
A festival-within-a-festival featuring a range of hands-on STEM activities, planetarium domes and much more. Where SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, ARTS & MATHEMATICS come together.
ANGUS BASKERVILLE'S MAGIC SHOW
Angus Baskerville delivers an intimate, funny and astonishing magic show that blends jaw-dropping illusion with honest storytelling.
ORACY & CREATIVE USE OF LANGUAGE
Discover the power of Oracy, Literacy, and creative language in this interactive workshop. Build confidence in speaking, listening, reading, and writing through fun activities, storytelling, and wordplay in a supportive, engaging environment.
TROUBADOR SHOW:
THE ILIAD
Acclaimed Theatre Company Troubador present their magical retelling of Ovid's famous epic, including extracts from The Odyssey, The Aeneid, and Jason and the Golden Fleece. Most importantly, it is a human story of homecoming and healing.
LINE DANCING
This feel good session gets everyone up on their feet and dancing along as they learn the basics of line dancing. With easy to follow steps, plenty of laughs and a toe tapping mix of classic country hits and modern favourites, participants can let loose, build confidence and enjoy a good stomp.
DRUM KIT WORKSHOP:
ROCK UP DRUMMING
Get ready to make some noise! These fun, high-energy drum workshops put you in the action. Everyone gets a practice pad and plays along, learning by doing. Jam together, build confidence, and enjoy an exciting, inclusive rhythm experience!
UKULELES
Explore three simple chords, a couple of familiar songs and finish off with a playful jam. No experience required for this relaxed, fun, music session.
PUPPETRY
Explore the core techniques of puppetry and object manipulation. Learn how props can come to life, scarves can take audiences on adventures and how to make newspapers walk.
CLUB YOGA
Unwind, stretch, and reconnect in this welcoming yoga Introduction. Learn basic poses, breathing techniques, and gentle flows designed to build confidence, improve flexibility, and promote relaxation. For all abilities.
WHY MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN IS THE BEST FILM EVER
Through selected clips from this landmark British comedy, we will explore what makes Life of Brian such an enduring and influential film. We’ll dissect key moments of satire and explore and consider the controversy that surrounded the film on its release, and why, nearly fifty years on, it still resonates today.
MACRAME
Get creative with cord and colour in this hands-on macramé workshop. Learn 2–3 essential knotting techniques and use them to craft a unique keyring or bag tag in your house colours—or any combination you love.
ROCKETS!
Ever wanted to design and launch your own rocket? Well now you can…this is your chance to be the rocket scientist you always dreamed of in this practical hands-on STEM workshop where your rocket might reach orbit!
NATURAL HISTORY:
POND, PELLETS AND PREDATORS
Ever wondered what lurks beneath the surface of a pond — or what a barn owl had for dinner? In this hands-on natural history session, you'll get up close with real freshwater invertebrates, exploring the miniature world hiding in pond water.
CRAFTING GREAT WOMEN
A group of female STEM staff decided that as a celebration of 50 years of girls at Rugby, we would love to introduce the students to the idea of crafting representations of great women from the sciences, engineering, and architecture.
CLIMBING WALL
Scale the heights with your friends in this physical workshop learning safe climbing techniques and test your skills and conquer fears as you reach the peak of our climbing wall.
SPACE DESIGN
Led by the Space Science and Engineering Foundation this is a real-world engineering challenge. It is a multidisciplinary space themed competition designed to be a simulation of life in industry.
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE
Aimed at those with an interest in Financial Markets and Investment. It will involve education about financial products and followed by interactive trading challenges using a high-end financial market simulation.
UCAS DISCOVERY
Head to the NEC in Birmingham for the annual UCAS Discovery Event. It will be an opportunity to meet with current students and staff from universities across the UK and discuss course and university choices.
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
David Gilliver joins us to deliver a spectacular light painting workshop. Alongside this, students will spend part of their day plastic fusing in a Textiles-based workshop as well as screen-printing in the Fine Arts studio.
POET IN RESIDENCE
We welcome The Poetry Takeaway and this year’s Rugby School Poet in Residence, the award-winning, published writer, Laurie Bolger. Students can choose from a range of writing activities, and some will have the opportunity to be trained up as ‘poetry chefs’.
BEAT THE BOOMER
Each House will enter a team of up to 4 students into this event. It is a House competition where accompanied groups are blindfolded and dropped a distance from School, with the winners being the first group back to School to ring the Boomer.
FILMMAKING WITH WILL KENNING
Join Old Rugbeian film director Will Kenning as he presents his award-winning short films, taking you behind the scenes on the film-making process, before giving some of you the chance to 'screen test' live to camera and get some tips on screen acting from Will himself.
SPORTS: TENNIS & CRICKET
We will be hosting a Tennis tournament here at Rugby School and relevant students will be selected for this. We will also have the Marlborough Cricket Fixtures.
LUCKY DIP
Join our Taskmaster-style workshop, where creativity, teamwork, and quick thinking take centre stage! You’ll tackle a series of fun, unpredictable tasks—some tricky, some hilarious—all designed to test how you think under pressure.
Acclaimed touring science show Braintastic! Science creates spectacular live science shows for festivals that inspire, entertain and educate audiences about their amazing brains and how to get the best out of them. This promises to be a huge highlight at this year’s Festival on The Close.