Catherine Costello, Curriculum Leader for English and the Arts at the OHS, has won a Creative Learning Guild Award, on behalf of the Oxfordshire Hospital School, for the innovative ‘Poetry Conversations on the Hospital Hubbub’ project, in which a series of podcasts were created in collaboration with the radio producer, Penny Boreham.
The brilliant project came out on top in the ‘Digital & Film’ awards category. Catherine was presented with the award on Friday 8th March by Creative Learning Guild member, Rob Young, award-winning writer, artist and former BAFTA Screenplay judge. Rob said: “Hospital Hubbub Poetry Podcast is the distilled essence of low-cost, high impact, patient centred healthcare, bringing well-being to society’s most vulnerable in a positive, pro-active and truly innovative format. It demonstrates, beautifully, how one woman can plant a seed and many flowers bloom ‘and then some’ because it is not just a one-off event, it is a template that can be replicated so the seed becomes a meadow.”
Catherine said: “I was very proud to receive the award on behalf of all those involved in this poetry project. Many thanks to the OHS staff, in particular Caron Houchen and Juliet Wraith, who shared their own inspirational poems in lessons; welcomed poets, writers and artists into their classrooms and helped to plan, create and present the podcasts at the Oxford Festival of the Arts.
“Thanks must also go to Ruth Charity from Artlink, at the Oxford Hospitals Charity, for her support in getting the project off the ground and of course to Penny for her wonderful expertise in creating such high quality podcasts.
“However, the young people involved deserve the heartiest congratulations of all: their resilience, wisdom and positive energy, in the face of personal difficulties, is a continual inspiration.”
Click here to visit the OHS news page to hear some of the podcasts.
Selected podcasts will also form part of a ‘Listening Post’ at the ‘Healing Spaces – Child Health in Oxford’ exhibition’: April 26th to 24th August 2019, at the Gallery, Museum of Oxford. This exhibition has been created in close collaboration with the Oxfordshire Hospital School. Look out for more details about the exhibition in April’s newsletter.