Our 12-Year Partnership

We are extremely proud of our 12-year partnership with the Royal Ballet and Opera. Beyond the entitlement to experience world-class ballet and opera performances, GLC children have rich opportunities to explore the work both on and off stage through a wide range of experiences linked to the curriculum and future careers.

The GLC has also continually hosted performances and co-created events for Thurrock, providing meaningful cultural experiences for the local community. Alongside this, we have jointly developed a series of action research projects that have been rolled out across schools in Essex and beyond, extending impact far beyond GLC pupils into wider educational communities.

GLC Impact with RBO Schools

The partnership with RBO Schools and Thurrock Trailblazer has an impressive legacy of statistics due to the partnership ethos of GLC to embed all activity into the curriculum and the scale of ambition at the trust.

This best practice allowed every year group to engage with experiences and opportunities, as well as upskilling teachers and GLC Cultural Champions to enable them to deliver the work year on year. This process proved to be both efficient in time and funding models, but also in it's impact as children had equitable access.

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Trailblazer Awards

On 5 June 2024, the Royal Ballet & Opera celebrated 10 years of Trailblazer with an awards event at the Royal Opera House, recognising the outstanding contribution of Thurrock schools and teachers to cultural learning.

Across six categories, 30 nominees and eight award winners were celebrated, alongside Highly Commended nominees.

GLC Award Winners

• Collaboration with Royal Ballet & Opera — Secondary/FE: The Gateway Academy

• Collaboration with Trailblazer Cultural Partners — Primary: GLC Primaries: Herringham, Lansdowne, Gateway Primary Free School and Tilbury Pioneer Academy