South Bank past the live musicians, magicians, jugglers, escapologists and those peculiar human statues. Not all to our taste, of course, but you don’t have to stop and it costs no more than you think it is worth.
So an afternoon’s free entertainment? Well no. The relatively short distance from, say, east London to the centre is the price of an off-peak travelcard, which can top £8 per adult: not insignificant for a family on a low income. So it is that even central London’s free delights – the museums, galleries, parks and river walks – are seldom enjoyed by many outside zone 1.
As Sally Goldsworthy has noted, ‘London is a leading cultural city with world class galleries, museums and theatres. Yet for many Londoners they remain undiscovered, more likely to be visited by tourists than a teenager from a poor background growing up in zone 4.’ For a tourist a gallery is little more than an afternoon stop but for our children these experiences can open doors and open minds: ‘For some it’s jumping the highest, running the fastest, for others it’s singing, dancing, painting, performing. For every child, a dream,’ said Ellie Robinson.
Holly Donagh reports on research from charity A New Direction, which found that over half of young people in London hadn’t been to a theatre performance, gallery or music event in the last year. When asked, young people say they want opportunities to be part of something, leading and decision making as well as simply watching; more free experiences ‘that you just come across’; to be able to find out about what is happening more easily and get support to develop talents; and to see more arts in schools.36
The mayor of Bristol has been Making Sundays Special once a month: closing the centre of the city to cars, importing climbing walls and bouncy castles and inviting street performers to take over. Last year a giant water slide constructed down a main street attracted 100,000 applicants for 360 tickets.37
London saw something similar in 2012 when the Olympics and the torch relay that preceded it brought families out into London in force, congregating in person and in spirit around one of the world’s great sporting events. London boasts some of the world’s greatest cultural institutions all year round, which – with the right support – could recreate something similar and more permanent. We could start with one Sunday each month.
These London Sundays would see a coordinated programme of free events and activities designed specifically for young tourists from within the M25, widening access to London’s art, culture, history and traditions. One Sunday could see the South Bank Centre or the Natural History Museum or the Tate lead a day’s celebration beyond their walls. Others could feature some of London’s best musicians, dancers, authors or poets.
To ensure everyone can take part, particularly in activities in the centre of the city, that tube ticket would have to be covered: a free return trip for every adult accompanied by a responsible child would remove one severe restraint on participation and open the event to every family.
The Olympics was a sporting occasion that opened eyes, inspired, drew Londoners together and briefly transformed our city. We can recreate the effect on a smaller scale, but regularly and consistently, once a month, with free tube and bus travel and some enthusiastic arts partners.
A ‘Have-a-Go Festival’
Edinburgh is world famous for its wonderful annual festival, but our participation is largely as audience members, watching others perform. Could London add to its fame by being the first to host an annual festival where we all take part? Act on the stage at the National, sing at the O2, play at Wembley, paint at the Tate, write at the British Library. Have a go at riding a bike for the first time, at learning to swim, at ballroom dancing, at healthy cooking, at being a first aider. For a couple of weeks every summer the ‘Have-a-Go Festival’ would see London’s organisations, large and small, opening their doors to the public, particularly children, encouraging us all to join in.
Some museums already do this once a year, through an annual countrywide Takeover Day organised by charity Kids in Museums, which puts young people in charge of major cultural venues for twenty-four hours.38 Employers in the public and private sectors could participate too, giving children the chance to try being a fire fighter, a city trader, a nurse, a plumber, a lawyer, a builder – or even at being a mayor. Opening doors and opening minds. Some opportunities would necessarily have to be restricted to only a few children but all should be advertised openly and for some activities there would be no limit on numbers.
A small central resource would provide a coherent brand and collate the opportunities in a programme and on a website, but individual organisations would be responsible for managing their own involvement.
A Have-a-Go Festival would not just open up new opportunities for millions of children but would send a message: London – its art and culture and sport, its community organisations, its best employers and its government – is here for the benefit of all its citizens, not just the tourists, the privileged few or those in the know.
A Cultural Guarantee for London’s Children
London Sundays and a Have-a-Go Festival would see children accessing the art and culture for which London is famous, but we could strengthen our duty further. Sally Goldsworthy argued in her contribution that the mayor should institute a cultural guarantee to all London’s children, of things they will have had the opportunity to achieve by the time they leave school: ‘For example, see a play, visit an art gallery, write with an author and be mentored by a professional artist. This wouldn’t be a restrictive Ofsted tick box of fifty things to preserve but a dynamic list created by children, parents, teachers and artists that captures London’s quality and innovation.’
Holly Donagh wrote: ‘London schools currently have access to £450 million a year in funding through the Pupil Premium, and whilst this must support a range of needs for lower income pupils it could also fund cultural activity when it is clear that it helps in the development of those young people. All schools in the city allocating 10 per cent of Pupil Premium for cultural provision would help break the link between family income and cultural engagement and be one way of funding the delivery of a citywide guarantee.’
Alternatively, the scheme could be funded by the kind of Visitor Tax that is applied in Paris and New York. A one or two per cent levy on hotel bills would hardly be noticed by the tourist but it would be hugely beneficial to the children of London if spent in this way.
A scheme of the sort Sally and Holly describe – embedded across London’s schools – would perfectly embody the agenda we describe. The mayor should lead its development and be the public face of its implementation. London Sundays would be a part of it but the educational infrastructure would help ensure no child missed out.
Expand the London Curriculum
Credit where credit’s due: the current mayor’s education enquiry proposed creating a London Curriculum that weaves the history, culture and stories of London into English, art, music, geography and history lessons. It was launched last year, to great success. Holly Donagh suggests it should be expanded across the Key Stages, particularly to Key Stage 2.
She wrote about Kuopio in Finland, where each year of school is based around a different ‘cultural path’ – drama one year, film the next, dance the year after, and so on.39 Dallas’s Big Thought Arts Partners coordinates cultural education across the city, providing a portal where schools can view and book cultural experiences for their young people.40 Mocca in Amsterdam run a city wide programme of training, online offers and discounts for schools on cultural experiences as well as advice and guidance for teachers.40 And, closer to home, the World Heritage Organisations in Greenwich (The National Maritime Museum, the Royal Observatory and the Old Royal Naval College) have created a curriculum for Greenwich schools based on their local area.41
(3) For Every
