On Saturday, 11th November, a group of our creative team of gifted and talented students attended the world premiere of Glyndebourne’s latest youth opera, ‘Belongings’.  ‘Belongings’, composed by Lewis Murphy, explores the experiences of young people forced by war to flee their homes.

Contemporary global concerns are very much the subject matter of Belongings which explores child migration alongside the evacuation of children during World War II. Accompanied by their teacher, a group of evacuees boards the train from London to Lewes to escape the Blitz, singing of the exciting adventure they anticipate in the countryside. Their optimism fades as they begin to pine for home, and one group decides to run away.

Meanwhile, in the present day, a group of refugee children are re-building their recently demolished shelters. They try to remain positive while contemplating the dangerous final stage of their journey.

Quest students had the opportunity to explore Glyndebourne, to visit the organ room and the exhibition of art works related to this year’s Glyndebourne tour.

Students are in the early stages of producing their responses inspired by the opera and their visit to Glyndebourne. These will take a variety of forms that include sculpture, dance, music, narratives, poetry and painting and will be exhibited later this term.

The visit was organised as part of The Quest Academy’s provision for gifted and talented students: this is an individualised project which aims to develop our students’ skills and talents through new experiences.

L. Mcleod