TWENTY youngsters aged eight to ten have taken part in a new Arts Award at York Theatre Royal’s Youth Theatre.

The group completed the project in their Thursday sessions over a seven-week period.

The young people found out about two arts organisations, Tutti Frutti and York Theatre Royal, and watched the Hare And Tortoise and had a post-show discussion with the actors and director, before creating three performance pieces inspired by what they had seen and heard. These pieces were performed to parents on the last week of the project.

Arts Award Explore, which is run by Trinity Guildhall and the Arts Council England, is open to seven to 11-year-olds and all 20 participants in the pilot achieved an Arts Award Explore certificate.

The scheme will be rolled out nationally by the Arts Award team from April 2012, when York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre plans to offer it to some of its other youth theatre groups.