Schools

Teaching Drums has been providing memorable, fun and educational workshops in Scottish and UK schools for over 20 years. Our workshops are excellent for breaking the ice at the start and end of terms as well as on any special occasion where happy learning and fun activities are required to lift everybody’s mood in school. 

Our school events are excellent for:

  • Fairtrade Fortnight
  • World Book Day
  • Black History Month
  • Scottish Book Week

During his visit to your school, Chief Chebe can deliver workshops in any of these broad categories:

  • African Drumming
  • African Storytelling
  • Live Literature
  • African Oware Game
  • Africa Day Experience

African Drumming

Doune Primary School drumming workshop

An African Drum Circle is a therapeutic group bonding activity that can bring shared joy to both pupil and teachers in school. Our drumming workshops are fun, entertaining and highly rewarding as everyone feels the positive impact of the collective group energy and the power of working together to create a beat.

During the Drum Circle, Chief Chebe incorporates light body movements and village dance techniques that everyone can join in or clap along to. Our African drumming and dance workshops are simple and do not require prior knowledge of drumming, dance or musical skills. Everyone is given their own djembe drum and within minutes children are enabled to progress from simple notes to more complex beats.

A full day workshop can provide sessions for 5 classes or groups in your school. The workshops also include African songs and chants and are designed to encourage creative learning as part of Curriculum for Excellence. They are very informative about African culture and children are encouraged to ask questions.

Benefits of African Drumming in School

  • Enhances listening skills
  • Develops coordination skills
  • Improves timing
  • Boosts confidence
  • Lifts the spirit!

African Storytelling

“Stories are as important to the brain of a child as food is to the child’s stomach. I love telling stories in schools and sharing tales that I enjoyed listening to from the elders of the village when I was a little boy growing up in Ghana.” Chief Chebe.

Chief Chebe is a fabulous storyteller who will keep your whole class on the edge of their seat and gasping to hear more. The storytelling sessions are brought to life with the occasional musical interlude on the balafon which is Africa’s number one storytelling instrument.

Live Literature Workshops

Chief Chebe, pen name Frank McChebe, is the author of a series of African books about a young boy called Kasimo. The stories are set in Chief Chebe’s home Pulima, a small rural village in the north of Ghana close to the border with Burkina Faso. The stories appeal to a broad age range; younger readers will love the fast-paced stories and entertaining characters and older teen readers will be engaged and compelled by the stories themes of identity and transition. Frank McChebe is listed in the directory of the Scottish Book Trust where funding is available to host an author visit to your school.

Storytelling - Copy

African Games and Music

Oware is a fun, strategic game that can be played with a minimum of two players. It can also be played in teams of players and we provide enough games to keep the whole class occupied. Oware is a popular Ghanaian/West African game which is played by children and adults alike. The game is excellent for improving counting, fine motor skills, turn taking and critical thinking. It is quick to learn and all children will be able to take part.

Playing the African game Oware

Africa Day Experience

Our popular Africa Day Experience allows schools to tailor the workshops to their needs. The Africa Day Experience can be for the whole school or a particular class or age group. For the whole school there is usually a morning assembly followed by workshops for up to 5 classes. For a particular year or age group, there can be a morning assembly followed by a variety of different workshops such as storytelling, African drumming and dancing, African games and artefacts that brings the atmosphere of a typical African day into the Scottish school classroom. The Africa Day Experience can also be tailored to cover specific topics such as Fairtrade or Black History Month.

Prices of Workshops

Half Day Workshops = £350

Full Day Workshops = £550

You can reserve a workshop visit by sending us an email and letting us know about the size of your school, the number of classes you wish to cover and your preferred dates.

Alternatively, if you want to talk and find out more about workshop details you can call Chief Chebe on 07535167763 or 01236823869.