Teacher CPD - Water Songs: from Bangladesh to the Thames

📍 Old Palace Primary School, Leonard's Street, E3 3BT
🗓 Tuesday 10 March 2026
🕓 4:15 – 5:45 PM

Join us for an engaging and practical CPD session led by singers and educators Jessica Summers and Sohini Alam. The project will build on our KS2 singing project for this year, Water Songs: from Bangladesh to the Thames.

This session is designed to empower teachers to confidently teach a range of songs, particularly Bengali songs in their schools. Open to both primary and secondary teachers, this session welcomes music and non-music specialists alike—no prior musical experience required.

What to Expect:

• Learn some practical ways to get singing going in your classroom
• Learn some new repertoire linked to the Water Songs project, particularly Bengali repertoire, suitable to take back into your classroom straight away
• Access to further Bengali singing resources to use in your teaching
• Q&A and discussion

To book: email alison.porter@towerhamlets.gov.uk to book your place.

 

About Water Songs: from Bangladesh to the Thames

This new Key Stage 2 singing project will explore traditional and folk songs in English and Bengali. Bangladesh is a land of rivers, and its folk traditions include a rich subgenre of songs inspired by these waterways. This project brings this heritage into dialogue with East London’s own maritime past, celebrating sea shanties and other songs of the water.

 

Chisenhale, Old Palace and Our Lady & St Joseph primary schools are taking part in this project which will culminate in a performance at Trinity Buoy Wharf with British-Bengali band Khiyo. We are delighted to be able to share the fantastic song resources with other schools to use in their settings. The songs include Bengali folk songs, English sea shanties, and a specially composed piece by Oliver Weeks, The Ocean Witch.