LiNCHigher Presents: Purple Up Day 2026!

A day of reflection, creativity and sharing for some of Lincolnshire’s Service children.

Last Thursday, 23^rd April, LiNCHigher hosted a Purple Up Day event at Lincoln Bishop University for Service children from three Lincolnshire schools: Sir Robert Pattinson Academy, Branston Community Academy and Stamford Welland Academy. We worked with the charity Never Such Innocence who sent their fantastic practitioners – Azan and Sara – to help us put on some inspiring poetry and art workshops around the theme of ‘Winds of Change’ – this year’s theme for Month of the Military Child.

Poetry

In the poetry workshop, Azan worked with students around the idea of changes. These could be big or small, but the focus was on what these changes were, the feelings that these evoked and the impact of these changes. Many students were able to open up about their feelings around their parents being posted overseas as well as changes closer to home. Some students were able to share their poetry in front of the rest of their group, which was a great confidence building exercise!

An example of some of the poetry created. This example was written by Liam

Art

In the art workshops, Sara talked to students about how wind can be used to reflect changes and feelings in imagery and artwork and encouraged discussion around different types of wind (e.g. breeze, tornado, gust) being used to describe different things. Students were encouraged to think about their feelings during a period of change and channel this into either a sketch or a collage. The students got really stuck in to collage making, and have created some really meaningful art – whether representing the jobs that their parents do; feelings around having to move house; or how it feels when a parent is posted overseas and is gone for an extended period of time.

Some examples of some of the artwork created on the day

Reflection

During the reflection period, students were able to share their experiences from across the day with the whole cohort, and could explain why they had chosen particular elements of their artwork or poetry. It was a time to celebrate all that the students had achieved across the day! When asked what their main takeaways from the day were, many students identified feelings towards change as well as knowing that it is okay to feel a range of feelings, and that they aren’t alone in feeling this. This feedback made the day worth it, as it’s clear it was a fun and impactful day for the students involved!

Looking back on the day, it’s clear that it wouldn’t have been such a success if it weren’t for the efforts of the LiNCHigher team for making the day happen; the practitioners from Never Such Innocence for providing the fantastic workshops; and both Lincoln Bishop University and the Lincoln Bishop University Student Union for giving us spaces to host this event in! A huge thank you all round!

Does your school want to be involved in events like this in the future? Sign up to our monthly LinkedIn newsletter to be kept up to date with upcoming events, or contact Emily at LiNCHigher for more information.

Emily.lombardi@lincolnbishop.ac.uk