Community workshops

FLY Festival is working hard to elevate Amy's legacy and inspire people of all ages with her remarkable story. In her own words she was, ‘an ordinary woman who did extraordinary things’.

Amy believed passionately in the potential of young people and in the future of aviation. She encouraged everyone and anyone to take up flying if they possibly could, or at least learn to think like a pilot!

This workshop day inspired by Amy encourages and channels children’s innate practical skills, self belief, autonomy, and tenacity. These are key skills Amy used to work towards her dreams. The workshops give children a real taster of what they’re capable of as they realise they and the record-breaking pilot, Amy Johnson, are not so different.

The Amy Johnson Workshop Day is inspired by the first record attempt Amy ever made and the astonishing endeavour which made her name; her solo flight from England to Australia in May 1930.

We cover key information on Amy’s flight and also explore HOW she did it. How did Amy rise to the aspirations she had for herself?

Activities on the day differ depending on year group. All ages construct their own model of Amy’s beloved biplane, ‘Jason’ and come together to be part of the story of Amy flying to Australia. Older children will experience a day of activities mixing plane-construction, map work, fact finding and research.

The day supports cross-curricular learning, linking with S.T.E.M, D.T, History, Flight, Women in Engineering, Significant people, Social change, Geography, Drama, P.H.S.E, Interpersonal and confidence building, problem solving and creative thinking.

For schools in Wales, the workshop day naturally embraces the Welsh Creative Curriculum and Creative Habits of Mind.

The day is designed and led by Creative Director of FLY Festival, Jenny Lockyer, who has over 20 years’ experience of workshop facilitation in schools and museums.

Soon after beginning to learn to fly in 1928, Amy decided she was going to make a name for herself in aviation and break the record from England to Australia. She worked hard to qualify as a ground engineer so she might look after her machine on her flight. She took off from Croydon Airport on 5th May 1930 and 19 and a half days and 11,000 miles later she landed in Darwin on 24th May. She broke Hinkler’s record to India along the way and though she didn’t beat his time to Darwin, she became the first woman to fly to Australia solo. Her extraordinary flight earned her international recognition and a CBE. She went on to make numerous record-breaking flights. She became an author, fashion icon, president of the Women’s Engineering Society, glider, car-racer, commercial pilot for a short time, and First Officer in the Air Transport Auxiliary during WW2… all while facing the challenges of the day as a woman in aviation and engineering.

Despite all of this, the name Amy Johnson has largely fallen out of the public consciousness and people are far more likely to recall Amy’s American friend and contemporary, Amelia Earhart. As we head towards the centenary of Amy’s incredible Australia flight, FLY is elevating Amy’s legacy so that our young people can be inspired by this resilient and hardworking young woman from Yorkshire who believed nothing to be impossible.

Find out more about Amy HERE.