Side-by-Side Festival: Schools Linking

Celebrate the diversity of the borough’s schools with this free exhibition of work by pupils in the Schools Linking programme. Between March and June 2025, over 1,000 pupils from primary schools across Rochdale Borough took part in creative workshops with artists Thomas Byrne and Elmi Ali. 

Through art and poetry, pupils explored themes such as identity, bravery and working together. This exhibition on the fences of Broadfield Park on The Esplanade showcases the masks pupils created to help build friendships and understanding between schools, and you can also collect a zine with a collection of poems written during these workshops, available from The Esplanade or any Side-by-Side Festival venue. 

Supported in Rochdale by Touchstones and Rochdale Borough Council, Schools Linking is a national programme that brings together two carefully matched classes from demographically different schools, in a thoughtfully-planned, year-long programme.