Wythenshawe in Bologna
And then, 12 months later, the moment arrived. We boarded a plane at Manchester Airport courtesy of British Airways, accompanying 40 talented Wythenshawe children, and embarked on a journey to Italy, to showcase their skills and talents in the city of Bologna, home of Europe’s oldest university. On 26 May 2004, 40 children from Wythenshawe primary, secondary, and special schools performed 12 Shakespeare plays set in Italy, part in Italian and part in English. Each play lasted no more than ten minutes. The two-hour evening performance, with a matinee rehearsal thrown in for good measure, was performed in the Piazza Santa Stefano and shown on Italian television.
In the 700-plus-strong audience were the United Kingdom ambassador to Italy, Sir Ivor Roberts, and his wife, Lady Sarah; British Council and Bolognese dignitaries; teachers and headteachers, including those from Wythenshawe; and most importantly, parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties, brothers, sisters, and friends of the families who had made the journey from Wythenshawe of their own accord, by train, plane, and automobile. You could taste the pride in the air.
That the project won the Association of Language Learning Award in that year came as no surprise to anyone.