Go to school- be a fool! Erasmus Project

Project Title

Go to school- be a fool!

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 : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

The project “Go to school – be a fool” was an international, innovative and inclusive circus project.
During 2 years, the fascination circus with all its creative and enchanting moments, made its way into the schools of every
partner country.
The school Haus Widey (Germany) as the coordinating school already has a wide repertoire and the knowledge of
circus arts. For many years, circus pedagogy has been part of the school’s internal curriculum. The partner countries schools in
Poland, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Greece also wanted to implement circus pedagogy at their schools.
The idea of the project evolved from the “Comenius Project” 2013 – 2015 in which some of the partner countries took part. They
have already experienced the circus work of the school Haus Widey in an active workshop.
The main targets of this project were the development or rather the evolution of the international and inclusive circus pedagogy, its
implementation in every participating school and the aid for students from limited social and sanitary backgrounds who would not
be granted intercultural encounters and education.
However, the project’s focus remained on the inclusive concept, this means the encounters on eye level as well as equal acting and
learning. Within the scope of this idea of partnership, different special schools (schools for students with special needs in
emotional and social learning, mental development, motoric development and learning, Asperger’s Syndrome and autism) have met students from the participating regular schools and have worked together on a common inspiring idea.

And this is the project in numbers:
– 147 teachers and168 students were actively involved in workshops, shows and mobilities
– 270 students participated in circus programs at their home schools
– 9 international circus shows with about 1500 spectators took place
– about 1200 spectators saw the individual shows of each country

The intercultural exchange on the grounds of dance, acrobatics, buffoonery, juggling, magic, music, painting and designing has given
every student the opportunity to become integrated in the project within the scope of his abilities and to learn.
The creative common doing encourages a competent behaviour in social contexts. The students of the partner countries encountered each other in their cultural and sanitary differences. This demanded tolerance, empathy and the respect of being different from every participant. The work on a common project allowed every participant to experience himself cooperative
and communicative.
Finally, “doing circus” means having fun together!
As part of the project, two kinds of meetings have taken place. On the one hand, there were trainings for multipliers. During the 2 workshops, teachers have conveyed the basic skills to set up their own school circus. On the other hand, meetings between groups of students were arranged in order to give the students the opportunity to
experience themselves in a common circus arts project. During these two weeks, teachers had the chance to act as
instructors and to reflect on the offered methods.
Report Form
At the end of every project week, the prepared performance was presented together in front of a regional audience.

At the end of the entire project, there were several big shows in Germany with every partner country involved. Therefore, the results of the precedent meetings were merged to one big common programme resulting in a show with the title “The Hairy Fairy”.

Now after the project has finished circus pedagogy plays a strong part in the life of every partner country´s school and has become a flagship and a specialty for these schools!

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 169179 Eur

Project Coordinator

Schule Haus Widey & Country: DE

Project Partners

• C.E.E.: Puerta de Santa María
• Zespol Szkol Specjalnych nr 5 im. Jana Pawla II
• 1st Special Elementary School of Ilion
• Agrupamento de Escolas Francisco Simões
• Engin Can Gure Ortaokulu