Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

carnival art projects. Although it was a QCA 91 funded initiative, the masquerade band
Perpetual Beauty, contributed their expertise and this included writing up a case study.
Awarding bodies, (OCR, RSA and EDXCEL), funded workshops for schools at local level, while
in some instances, large companies such as Yamaha, came forward to sponsor a scheme in
Birmingham. One part of the project involved the publication of guidance on how to award
marks to students for a Carnival project submitted as part of an A level, GCSE or GNVQ
examination. Learning materials were also available as projects were often submitted as an
integral part of the qualification such as the history of Carnival under A’ level History of Art.
4.30 It is easy to see how carnival arts will help students studying English or art and design but it is
also beneficial for those enrolled in business, finance, leisure, tourism, media and marketing
courses. The scheme proved to be popular. A QCA spokesperson stated, “As soon as we
launched the project, schools could not get enough of it. Pupils became so motivated that for
teachers, preparation for Carnival became the high spot of the year.”
4.31 Although take-up in regional areas was good, the Scheme proved difficult to get things
moving in the Capital. There were several reasons for this – London was more politicised,
teachers tended to shift between jobs more often, and students in local schools were not
necessarily from the same borough. In addition, student discipline and truancy rates were
higher than in the regions, which made it more difficult to operate the scheme. Outer London
boroughs appeared to be easier to work with than some of the inner London boroughs.
4.32 Under the scheme, a workbook was produced, similar to the Lambeth Schools Carnival Group,
with useful resources and Carnival Technical Guidance Sheets containing health and safety
pointers and information on joining material, making corex boards and ‘A’ frame backpacks.
Its educational benefits were clear. New technology was fused with traditional methods such
as costumes using traditional cane bending and fibreglass rods and professionals were called
to help with work.
4.33 Measures of success were based on the grades that the students received in their exams, with
some teachers observing a marked increase in the grades attained. Overall, the QCA provided
the formality to give the scheme exposure. Natalie Miller from Joseph Chamberlain College in
Birmingham, won the top scholar award in 1998 for her costume, ‘Madame Butterfly’, which
went on to become the first Carnival costume to be exhibited at the Museum of London. As a
result, Chamberlain was offered an unconditional place at St Martins, London, to study for a
degree in design. Pupils from Thomas Aveling School, in Medway, Kent, were also part of the
QCA scheme. They have since joined the Perpetual Beauty Masquerade Band on the road at
the Notting Hill Carnival, wearing some of the costumes designed as part of their examination
coursework. An evaluation of the Medway scheme was able to prove that relationship
between different ethnic groups was greatly improved since it raised awareness of Carnival
traditions in the area. Local residents have now used Carnival bands as part of their
celebrations for parties and birthdays. Thus Carnival goes some way to promoting social
inclusion, integration and tolerance.
4.34 Steel-pan in schools: the pioneers - In 1969, Islington Green School became the first
school to form a steel band under the guidance and teaching of Gerald Forsythe. A number of
Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) schools subsequently followed suit by organising
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The QCA withdrew from the scheme in 2000 although some of the established projects are still running with funding by other means.
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