This week some of our SEND learners were lucky enough to be invited along to see behind the scenes of the legendary Glastonbury Festival just days before it opened to the public! If this wasn’t exciting enough, they were also given an exclusive tour by the prestigious Arcadia Spectacular, known colloquially as ‘Arcadia’. 

A performance art collective; Arcadia combine elements of sculpture, architecture, recycling, pyrotechnics, lighting, circus and music into large scale performance and dance spaces.   

Learners were given a tour of the infamous Arcadia ‘spider’ as well as getting the opportunity to hear all about different creative jobs and careers at music festivals. 

Faculty of Inclusive Practice Lead Operations Manager, Nicola Lace, commented that “‘it was a great experience to be able to see backstage at such a well-known festival, as well as supporting people who might not feel as comfortable at festivals becoming more visible ultimately leading to more inclusive environments. The whole group loved it!” 

This comes at a very exciting time, with Glastonbury opening once again at Worthy Farm in Pilton for 2022. Glastonbury, which welcomes over 200,000 festival-goers, has had a 3-year hiatus after being continuously postponed by Covid-19. Therefore being able to see behind the scenes of one of the world’s biggest festivals, right before the grand re-opening by festival creator Michael Eavis, was a wonderful experience for our learners. 

Many thanks to everyone involved! 

To find out more about our courses available for learners with special educational needs and/or disabilities please click here.