Our annual partner school programme connects in depth with a school over the course of an academic year.
The partner school programme is generously supported by the Dr Lee MacCormick Edwards Charitable Foundation.
If you are a school interested in partnering with us, sign up to our newsletter to be the first to find out when new opportunities are available.
2025-26 partner school
Newhaven School
Newhaven provides alternative provision for secondary school students in Greenwich who have either been excluded from mainstream education or have social, emotional and mental health needs. This partnership was a continuation of our work with Newhaven in 2024-24. As the setting was so unique, we wanted to capitalise on our learnings from the first year.
This partnership aims to provide meaningful, creative engagement for students through artist-led sessions. The project focused on fostering artistic expression, exploration of a new art medium (sound, which the school isn't able to usually provide) and how the theme of 'ocean' can be developed through sound.
Image
The students worked with sound artist Brona Martin to create sound pieces inspired by themes and objects in the National Maritime Museum. The students created work from a combination of their own field recordings and existing sound libraries. For the duration of this project, sounds were kindly donated by Brona Martin, George Vlad and Daniel Blinkhorn.
Pieces were debuted as part of the Museum’s World Ocean Day celebrations in 2026. Students also contributed to an interpretation display in the ReThink space at the National Maritime Museum, sharing some of the intention behind their pieces.
Sounds of the Ocean will be released online and in the 'My Greenwich' gallery at the National Maritime Museum on 3 June 2026.
2024-25 partner schools
Newhaven School and King’s Oak School
We partnered with two schools in 2024-25. Both provide alternative provision for secondary school students in Greenwich who have either been excluded from mainstream education or have social, emotional and mental health needs.
This partnership aimed to provide meaningful, creative engagement for students through artist-led sessions. The project focused on fostering artistic expression, personal identity exploration, and positive emotional development, particularly for students with limited access to arts experiences.
Image
The students worked with artist Joel Chidi Sydenham to create a range of art pieces on the theme of ocean migration.
The artworks were inspired by objects from the Museum’s collection, their personal stories and a behind-the-scenes visit to the Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre.
17 students from years 7-11 took part in creating the final art pieces. We also offered a ‘golden ticket’ to all students at both schools, which allows students and their families one free visit to Cutty Sark.
The students’ work was collated into collages by the artist and displayed in the West Street showcases. It was also printed on large banners, on display during the reopening of the Museum’s Ocean Court.
2023-24 partner school
Phoenix Primary and Secondary School
Phoenix Primary and Secondary School is a special school in Bow, serving children and young people with autism.
Fifteen students from Years 1 to 7 took part in SENsory Seas, a session from our core programme, on-site at their school.
This session inspired a movement piece, and the Learning team worked with the students over five weeks of workshops, culminating in a performance during the school’s Arts Week in March 2024.
Watch the video to find out more about this partnership and see the students perform.
Image
2021-22 partner school
Willow Dene School
Pupils from Willow Dene School took part in a sensory session for children with disabilities and special educational needs.
Inspired by their visit, pupils participated in creative activities at their school on the theme of sea creatures.
Artist Shermaine Slocombe used the students' work to create a digital collage, which was then transferred onto a huge banner. The vibrant artwork was on display in the National Maritime Museum's Sammy Ofer Wing.
The final design also included the pupils’ class names – Greenfinch, Heron, Nightingale and Woodlark and referenced sea charts and maps from the Museum’s collection.
Watch the video below to find out more about the making of the sea creatures artwork.