Warhammer is for everyone, and that includes young people too. Warhammer Alliance is a programme that gets young people together to play games and paint models, but it’s loads more than that besides. It’s tailor-made to teach valuable life skills such as confidence, creative expression, and relationship-building, all through the wonderful worlds of Warhammer.
We’ve heard from a few of the teachers and mentors who run the programme in their schools and youth clubs, who’ve told us about what Warhammer Alliance has meant for young people in their care.
The program allows young people to explore artistic expression in a relaxing and rewarding way, and also teaches them maths, logic, and social skills. Take Woodfield School in Coventry as an example.
This Social Emotional and Mental Health School (SEMH) has a classroom, run by Learning Mentor Jason Mottram, dedicated to Warhammer and similar hobbies like boardgames. The aim was to create a “themed, inclusive, and accessible space that would help young people to develop problem solving skills, confidence, and resilience while also improving their literacy and numeracy.”
Jason notes that the group, supported by resources from the Warhammer Alliance, has been a real success.
“We've got young people who wouldn't normally sit still for long periods of time, happily sitting and reading or painting,” Jason says. “One thing that has been particularly helpful is when you have a student with a low tolerance to failure – they can be helped through this with the concept of winning and losing during a game, or when they haven't quite painted the model to the standard they wanted.”
Warhammer has proved to be a mine of inspiration for many of Jason’s students: “It's also been amazing from a creative writing perspective, with students who would normally be reluctant to put pen to paper having so much to write about that they can struggle to contain it all.
“Without exception, every student has benefitted in some way, whether that is from the increase in focus from painting and reading, or from the resilience and problem-solving skills honed on the battlefield and working through instructions.”
We love hearing about people who have tried it out, and Danny Bennett has a similar story. He’s an educator who recently wrote a piece in an education magazine about how well the Warhammer Alliance program worked for his students. The topic has drawn a lot of interest from educators, and has seen wider coverage as well.
Among the benefits he cites? Social skills and artistic expression. There are many more, but those two made a noticeable difference in his club. His students were able to focus on their art, uplift and support each other in ways they didn’t previously outside the class, and feel proud of their work.
Do you know of a school or educational support group that might benefit from activities like these? Find out on the Warhammer Alliance website if it’s right for them, or ask at your local Warhammer store to learn more.
