During 2024 we were delighted to secure funding from the Youth Arts Open Fund that allowed us to work with lots of young people in our local community in Leith. Under the banner Lift Off Leith we were able to offer free sessions to schools and community groups with children from families who otherwise couldn’t afford to attend aerial classes.
We worked with Lorne Primary School, Leith Academy, the Pilmeny Development Project and the Citadel Youth Centre to devise sessions to suit a variety of ages and group sizes. The children got the chance to get in the air and prove to themselves that they could tackle something new and challenging.
One parent sent a message afterwards: “(my child) won’t stop speaking about it and that’s really good cause he was unsure about it to start with! He can’t wait to go back. He wants to practice more”. And the children said “It was challenging but fun”, “I liked swinging upside down” and “It was fantastic!”.
Children from Lorne Primary School having fun with aerial silks
Nicola Hutchison, Youth Development Worker at Pilmeny Development Project had this to say:
“Pilmeny Development Project has seen a rise in young people needing a lot of support for health & wellbeing, especially in confidence building after Covid-19, as many of our young people were isolated. Aerial has given them the chance to build confidence through learning new skills and being encouraged to come out of their comfort zone, trying new movements and activities. From the sessions we had this summer we saw young people go from being anxious to try the activity to big smiles on their faces and not wanting to leave.”
Pilmeny Development Project brought their summer play scheme and girls groups to Out of the Blue