Supporting students moving from primary to secondary school
Primary Take the Lead is a free project working with London primary schools and engaging Year Six students.
Using theatre techniques and drama practices, the project explores themes of transition and change to help young people build their confidence and take ownership of their next steps, including the move from primary to secondary school.
Primary teachers on the programme also receive free CPD sessions to support their continuing professional development.
The project is based on our highly successful Take the Lead programme. Find out more about Take The Lead for older students
The programme will consist of:
- A launch workshop for teachers with start-up activities for your students
- A one-day workshop for Year Six students
- A follow-up CPD workshop for teachers
- Supporting resources to extend the learning in the classroom and support students with the transition from primary to secondary education.
All workshops will be held in The Clore Studio at The Old Vic.
Launch workshop for teachers: Tue 02 Jun 2026, 4.30–6.30pm
Student workshop: One full school day between Mon 08 Jun–Fri 03 Jul 2026
Teacher CPD workshop: Wed 08 Jul, 5.30–7pm
Participating schools need to be available for all dates of the programme to take part.
Applications for Primary Take the Lead are currently closed.
- We will work with 20 Year Six primary school groups/classes with a maximum of 30 students per group/class
- Each school can apply for a maximum of four Year Six classes to take part in the project, depending on the school form entry size
- The programme is designed for Year Six students and is open to all primary state schools based within the M25
- This programme aims to work with young people who have limited access to the arts. We are particularly interested in working with young people who are from backgrounds under-represented in theatre, such as young people from global majority backgrounds, young people with access requirements and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds
- This programme is offered free of charge to primary state schools
- Primary Take the Lead is open and accessible to all. We will discuss any access requirements your school may have before the project begins and will ensure appropriate support is in place
- We welcome applications from SEN schools
- We can adapt workshop content to suit your students
- We can bring in additional staff to support students during in-school workshops
If you would like to discuss your school’s access requirements or if you have any questions before applying, please contact primary@oldvictheatre.com
If you have any questions, please contact: primary@oldvictheatre.com
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