Entrepreneurial Entertainers Erasmus Project

Project Title

Entrepreneurial Entertainers

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Teaching and learning of foreign languages

Project Summary

This project was first discuss on a water taxi in Leeds during an eTwinning event on Entrepreneurship. The lead teachers from each school discussed how the best way to reach teenagers was through current music. We believe that music breaks down barriers that teachers of foreign languages are often confronted with in classrooms. Music is a way for our pupils to enjoy discovering and using new foreign language vocabulary without the barrier of adolescent self-awareness and self-consciousness. We then quickly created a project together, however realised that this project could be so much more exciting and have greater impact if experienced across departments in both schools.

Our objectives are to encourage pupils to continue with language learning and discover the relevance and usefulness of language in business. Explore how all subjects link in the world of work, one stand-alone subject is not sufficient in the 21st Century. Pupils will enjoy the interdisciplinary element of learning through music by creating local and international business plans, producing a bilingual album and designing an album cover incorporating both cultures and languages.
Pupils will be responsible for promoting and selling their album, locally and internationally. Finally, pupils will host and promote concerts in both countries. Departments will introduce new course plans to include entrepreneurial skill building and digital competencies.

The selection of participants of the exchange will be dependant on participation in class. As tasks are class based and take place over two years a cohort of almost 240 pupils in Scotland and 50 pupils in France will take part in the project and be involved in workshops during the exchange. Pupils will translate the chorus of French pop songs into English and English pop songs into French in language classes, which will result in an album of dual-language current music. Pupils will attend lectures from experts from industry to inspire and teach them how to produce quality pieces. The music will be practised and played in music classes and the foreign language lyrics will be incorporated to produce a new version of current pop music, which will then be mixed and engineered by pupils to create the best sound. French and Scottish pupils will record the album in the recording studio at Prestwick Academy. Pupils will produce business plans in workshops lead by language teachers, which will be developed and agreed across countries. Pupils will explore artists from France and Scotland, then in art/ digital design classes, pupils will create an album cover in that will incorporate ideas, styles, languages. Pupils will be in charge of the promotion in their local communities of the concert and will be responsible for generating album sales locally and internationally.

There will be a range of methodologies used throughout this project and across subjects. Pupils will experience university style lectures from experts in music, art, business and industry. Collaboration is central to this project, with Scottish and French pupils working together both via internet and also in person during exchanges. Also, staff will share good practice and collaborate while planning tasks for pupils to ensure standards. Teaching methods will include new technologies across each discipline and encourage staff to discover the most up-to-date technology used in their discipline. Research will take place in art when pupils explore artists in France and in Scotland. Pupils will also research successful business plans and implement a model that they deem successful when acting as entrepreneurs – to be used in carrying out the project.

As a result of this project, courses in both schools will be forced to update and deliver content more relevant to tomorrow’s future workforce. Pupils will have raised aspirations, especially those who will participate in the exchange from deprived socio-economic backgrounds. Pupils in both countries will show a better understanding of one anothers countries and culture, and those participating in the exchange will gain vital international experience. French pupils will enjoy working in Prestwick Academy’s state of the art recording studio. Scottish pupils will benefit from experiencing ‘walking in the paintings’ of Van Gogh in Arles and be inspired by the colours and light that is the south of France. All pupils will become more confident with their translating, communication, musical, artistic, entrepreneurial and marketing skills and understand the way in which all subjects work together in the world of work. Pupils goals will grow in confidence in all subjects and they will believe that entrepreneurship is a possibility, as a result there may be new business growth for both areas and links across Europe may be made. The project will impact staff and curriculum enormously and they will grow together throughout the experience, developing their linguistic competencies and cultural knowledge.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 65688 Eur

Project Coordinator

Prestwick Academy & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Collège Emilie de Mirabeau