Eight Mayo schools chosen to participate in pilot Creative Schools scheme

PUPILS from eight Mayo primary schools have been chosen to participate in a pilot Creative Schools scheme.

This will give them increased access to creative activities in schools as part of Arts Council led initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme

Creative Ireland is the Government’s Legacy Programme for Ireland 2016, the year of commemorations. Creative Ireland puts culture and creativity at the centre of public policy, which will benefit artists and citizens here in Mayo and nationwide.

Welcoming the announcement, Minister Michael Ring stated:“The Creative Schools scheme programme is a central initiative of Pillar 1 of the Government’s Creative Ireland Programme, which puts the arts and creativity at the heart of children and young people’s lives.

“The scheme was launched by Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan and Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton and is due to begin this September.

“Art and music are a part of who we are as a nation. Through the programme, the Arts Council is engaging with children and young people enabling their creativity and linking them in with the arts and creative infrastructure in their locality and nationally.

“This pilot initiative will develop and celebrate the arts and creativity in our schools. It will establish a range of collaborative opportunities for schools and will develop and strengthen the relationships between schools and the broader cultural and community infrastructure here in Mayo and further afield.

“I have no doubt the scheme will prove a great success.”

The schools chosen are as follows: