Over 20 creative workshops were delivered in schools throughout Hammersmith & Fulham this July

From 13th to 17th July 2026, the Young People’s Borough of Culture (YPBOC) a hugely popular School Arts Week, bringing free creative workshops to primary and SEND schools across Hammersmith & Fulham.

The YPBOC delivered 22 creative workshops to 528 young people across 19 primary and SEND schools, covering eight different art forms. While LAMDA delivered acting classes, Turtle Key Arts delivered Circus workshops, Care to Culture led classes on Comedy, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre taught Costume workshops and DanceWEST provided introductory dance lessons. Sands End Arts & Community Centre led classes on Photography, WEST Youth Zone provided Pottery workshops giving young people the chance to build clay house models and finally Idea Design Hub brought Visual Arts to life with a class on anime and manga.

These workshops were attended by some very welcome guests from the borough over the week, including Ben Coleman MP for Chelsea & Fulham and Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith & Chiswick, as well as Director of Education and SEND Peter Haylock and Harris Bokhari OBE, Chair of VisitBritain and Chair of the Hammersmith & Fulham Cultural Compact Where Culture Connects.

Director of Education and SEND Peter Haylock said:

“The H&F arts week activities have been a fantastic opportunity for H&F schools and pupils to engage with a wide range of creative activities. It was great to visit the mask making activity at The Good Shepherd Primary School and to see the enjoyment the children were getting from the session.”

Harris Bokhari OBE, Chair of VisitBritain and Chair of the Hammersmith & Fulham Cultural Compact Where Culture Connects said:

“It was fantastic to meet the children at the pottery workshop and to see how much they gained from taking part. It was a fun activity which also helped them to express themselves. They each created something they could take home and be proud of, which goes a long way to growing their self-confidence. I got to make something too! There’s so much talent in the Borough and YPBoC offers a chance for it to flourish.”

Young People’s Borough of Culture

School Arts Week is one of the launch programmes for the Young People’s Borough of Culture, which provides young people aged 13-25 in Hammersmith & Fulham with workshops, funding, artist networks and other opportunities for developing and enriching their cultural lives. Working with local innovation sectors, YPBOC will improve artistic provisions, address skill gaps and build capacity for artistic development within the local community.

Following School Arts Week, the Young People’s Borough Of Culture will be providing free author workshops in local libraries as part of the Summer Reading Challenge, up to £3,000 of funding for 13-25 year olds for community-based creative projects through Our Place and an upcoming festival in October, with full details to be announced shortly.

Young People’s Borough of Culture™ is a Where Culture Connects project led by Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, H&F Council, The Earls Court Development Company, DanceWest, Fulham Pier and Hammersmith BID.

To hear more about the Young People’s Borough of Culture, visit the website or sign up to the newsletter here.

Photos by Jennifer Forward-Hayter