Shayanna Dyer-Harris has been leading an after school drum club in Highshore School in Peckham over the last couple of years.  Through funding from Youth Music Mentors and Southwark Council the group was set up and gave themselves the name AKA Drummers.  We helped them purchase their own set of drums and create a logo as well as learning lots of rhythms and working together each week to develop a team identity.  The project has come to an end (for now!?!) and so on 11^th March a few more of the Bloco team headed into the school to do a Finale workshop with them to end on a high!  We also invited members of Peckham Academy who played brass / woodwind instruments and had a mammoth day working together to create a performance which we shared with the public in Peckham Square.

Members of AKA Drummers have already started joining the Kinetika Bloco Summer School and we hope that more of them will attend in 2011 so that we can keep the links going.

Mr. Weightman, Music Teacher, Highshore School:

“It seems very valuable to have opportunities for our young people to work alongside professional tutors as well as young musicians from different backgrounds and musical levels. The students who have already done the Summer School are showing a level of competence which they did not possess a year ago. It is apparent that Kinetika Bloco has a very inclusive approach, which enables young people to progress at their own rate, whilst being a part of a multi-arts large scale project, which has a clear vision and offers activities which engage young people in a creative and fulfilling way. There is also a very heavy emphasis on community and affirmation-this engenders a strong sense of belonging and identity. These aspects really do stand out and are crucial to developing confidence, independence and commitment”.