Booking will open on 30th September via this form. 

SCHOOLS PERFORMANCE 2025: 

What are schools matinee performances?
Our schools matinee performances are special performances exclusively for schools and educational groups.

When are your schools matinees?
In 2025, our schools matinee will be on Wednesday 11th June 2025 with the performance starting at midday.
We may add a second performance, depending on demand, on either Monday 9th or Tuesday 10th June. You can indicate on your application form which dates you are available for.

What opera is your school matinee this year?
In 2025, our schools matinee performance will be Itch, a new opera composed by Jonathan Dove based on the bestselling young people’s novels by Simon Mayo. You can see some photos of our previous production in 2023 and more information including reviews here. Bringing together exceptional music with an action-packed plot, this opera is perfect for young people of all ages.

What will students gain from attending?
Our schools matinee is a unique opportunity for students to explore opera in depth, providing them with an unforgettable experience. Our performance and workshop complements Literacy, History, Art and Design, Music and Drama and Theatre curriculums and gives students an insight into the magical world of theatre and the arts. The opportunity to watch a performance directly links to national curriculum targets for Music, including appreciating high quality live music from great composers and developing an understanding of the history of music. As this year’s production is of a new opera, it may also be particularly interesting for students studying composing.

What ages is the opera appropriate for?
We have had children as young as 5 at our schools matinees and all the way up to sixth form groups. However, we find performances are best suited to Year 5 upwards.

Is the performance appropriate for SEND students?
All students are welcome at our schools performance and we have found engagement with music and theatre can be extremely beneficial for students with SEND and other needs.
We leave suitability up to the discretion of the teacher and school. We expect each half of the performance to last around an hour, so it may not be suitable for students who find it difficult to sit for that long.

How long will the performance be?
The exact timings will be confirmed nearer to the time, but we expect it to be 2 hours 30 minutes including a 30 minute interval. The performance should be finished by around 2.30pm. Students are welcome to bring lunch to eat before the performance or during the interval.

Where is the Opera Holland Park theatre?
Our outdoor theatre is based in the middle of leafy Holland Park. The nearest tube stations are High Street Kensington (district and circle lines) and Holland Park (central lines), which are both about a 10 minute walk away.

Will I get resources to help prepare the students for the visit?
Yes, we aim to send out extra resources to support your visit early in the Summer Term.

Where will our seats be?
Seating is allocated depending on the size and age of the group and access requirements. Whilst we try to seat schools in one block, for large groups we may have to split groups across sections. We try to give everyone the best seats possible, but some seats may have side views of the stage. If your group has access requirements (for example needs seats requiring no stairs to access) please make sure you include this information on the application form, or by email.

SCHOOLS WORKSHOPS 2025: 

What are your schools workshops?
In addition to tickets to the performance, we also offer a workshop for schools. We deliver most of these workshops in schools (for schools within London). For schools outside of London, we may offer alternative options. Workshops are designed to be taken by the students who will come to watch the performance.

How long are workshops?
Workshops are around an hour long. If the group has SEND or other needs, we can shorten workshops to best suit the students. Please email us if you think your group would benefit from a shortened workshop.

What does the workshop content include?
The content of the workshop will depend on the year group but will be themed around the opera that the students will come to watch. It will likely include an introduction to opera and discussion, fun warm up and music activities, and activities around the story and music of the opera that the students will watch.
For older groups, we can tailor the content to be appropriate to their level of learning.

Who will deliver the workshop?
The workshop will be delivered by an OHP facilitator and is usually supported by at least one of the singers from the cast of the opera (dependent on availability).

How many students per workshop?
We suggest around 30 students per workshop to ensure they get the most out of it. For multiple year groups or larger groups, we would suggest scheduling two workshops back to back. For students with SEN or other needs, we may suggest having smaller groups for the workshops. The Inspire team will let you know what we suggest from the information provided on the application form.

What will I need to provide for the workshop?
We will need an appropriate space to hold the workshop (ideally a hall or sports hall) with enough space for the students to move around comfortably and access to a piano or full size electric piano. We will also need at least one teacher or staff member to remain with the group at all times.

When will these workshops take place?
Workshops will be held in the 3 weeks prior to the schools matinee (excluding half term): weeks beginning 12th May, 19th May and 2nd June. Year 6 groups will be given priority for slots in weeks beginning 19th May and 2nd June, to avoid clashes with SATs exams. You are able to select your availability on the application form.
The more options you can give us, the more likely we will be able to fit you in for a workshop. As we visit multiple schools a day and have to account for travel arrangements within the timetable, please try to give us accurate availability as we cannot guarantee we will be able to facilitate any changes once confirmed. We will confirm a provisional workshop time in the same email as confirming tickets.

I have a workshop time confirmed but I need to change this, how can I do this?
Please email inspire@operahollandpark.com as soon as possible.

BOOKING AND ALLOCATION: 

Which schools are able to apply?
All schools and educational groups are welcome to apply.

How many tickets can I apply for?
You are welcome to apply for the amount appropriate to your school/group, although to allow as many schools to attend as possible, we ask that you only apply for a maximum of 90 tickets, or a school year group (whatever is lower).

How much do tickets cost?
As we want as many young people to experience high quality opera as possible, we offer reduced price tickets on our schools matinee performances to all schools.

State schools
We have an allocation of heavily discounted tickets for state schools:

  • £6 performance only per student
  • £8 performance + workshop per student
  • Pupil premium eligible students free of charge
  • One teacher is free per 10 students. Additional teachers are £6 each.

Independent schools & any other groups
Tickets for independent schools and homeschool groups are priced at: 

  • £12 for the performance only
  • £15 for the performance + workshop
  • One teacher/adult is free per 10 students, otherwise priced at £12.

How can I apply for tickets?
There is a short application form to complete which will open for applications on 30th September. This will also be sent to schools on our mailing list on 30th September. Please do not try to complete this form before this date as you will not be able to submit.
You will need to complete the form in one go as you cannot save and return. In order to complete the form, you will need to provide:

  • School name and type
  • Lead teacher contact details (please provide the teacher who will likely attend the workshop and trip, as information and resources will be sent to this teacher)
  • Group size (number of students and teachers) and number of pupil premium/FSM students within the group
  • DfE number
  • Whether you are requesting a workshop as well as tickets, and if so availability
  • Access requirements (can be confirmed later)

Although we will try to accommodate small changes in numbers, please try to be as accurate as possible with the number of seats you require, so we can allow as many schools as possible to attend. 

When will payment be due?
If you are successful in gaining tickets, you will be issued an invoice in late 2024/early 2025. This can be paid by BACs or cheque. We ask this to be settled within 4 weeks. If payment is not received within this time, we may have to reallocate the tickets.

When will applications open?
Applications will open on 30th September and close on 25th October. Applications sent after the 25th October may not be accepted. We will confirm whether we are able to facilitate your application by the end of November, to the email provided in the form.

How do you decide which schools are selected?
For our allocation of the most subsidised tickets, we allocate based on type of school, location and percentage of FSM/pupil premium students. We try to allow as many schools as possible to experience our work. Regrettably sometimes we have more schools applying than we can accommodate.

How can I be added to the schools mailing list?
To be added to our mailing list to receive information about schools matinees and booking information please email inspire@operahollandpark.com. Please note, it is likely we have the info/office/admin email address on our mailing list. If you would like information sent to a specific teacher/contact, please email us.

Some of my students have access requirements, what should I do?
Our theatre is fully wheelchair accessible via specific entrances, and for specific seats. If your group has any access requirements please clearly indicate this on the form, or email us so we can provide you with the information you will need.

I have a question – who can I contact?
If you have a question that is not answered here, please email inspire@operahollandpark.com

I wasn’t successful in getting tickets, what can I do?
We will hold a waiting list for any schools who are unsuccessful and will contact you if tickets become available.
I have been allocated tickets but my school can no longer attend. What should I do?
If you are offered tickets and are no longer able to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can offer these tickets to another group. If we have already received payment, unfortunately we are not able to offer refunds as there is no guarantee we will be able to reallocate the seats.
In the very unlikely event that we have to cancel a schools performance we will reach out to all groups to offer a full refund.