Projects & Resources

We engage with hundreds of children of different backgrounds in art and music projects throughout the year, not just during the Festival fortnight. We send professional musicians, writers and artists into schools and community centres to work with and inspire young people, and we provide a platform for students' work by organising special concerts and exhibitions. Find out about our projects and download resources here.

Professor David Crystal talks to local farmer John Waggett

  • 1 February 2023
Professor David Crystal talks to local farmer John Waggett

A special interview with the celebrated linguist Professor David Crystal and Swaledale farmer John Waggett.

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Community Artwork: A Mosaic of Dales Youth

  • 20 January 2023
Community Artwork: A Mosaic of Dales Youth

We are delighted to say that the Story of Schools in the Upper Dales artwork and interpretation panels are available online. Find out about the changing journey to school, the tension between learning and earning and the life of teachers, bus drivers and school attendance officers known as ‘Kiddy Catchers’; zoom into hundreds of photos at your leisure; and listen to the podcast that was made about the project.

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M.R. Peacocke Poetry Project

  • 6 December 2021
M.R. Peacocke Poetry Project

In the Spring of 2021 we invited KS3 students from local secondary schools to be involved in an exciting new poetry project that Swaledale Festival developed alongside M.R. Peacocke, a much-admired published poet who lives in Barnard Castle. The Festival has a strong legacy of working with local young people both in and out of schools, and we hoped that the project would inspire and strengthen our ties with students in Dales schools.

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