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Dear Parents, Carers and Students,
I would like to take this opportunity to celebrate all that has taken place this term. So many different productions with such fantastic performances. National drama, dance, and art history competitions, a whole raft of educational trips, important tests, assessments and performance exams. We also had the fantastic Dance Show last week!
It has been a busy but wonderful term and it has been an absolute pleasure to see so many students achieving in all areas of school life.
With achievement in mind, I would encourage all parents and carers of students who are approaching GCSE, AS or A Level examinations to help with the revision that I know will be taking place over the holiday. Early morning past-papers and pop quizzes over the dinner table are definite winners!
I hope everyone has a restful and enjoyable break – see you all next term.
Adrian Blake
Headteacher
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Careers and TAP Update
This term’s careers talks have been contributed by a variety of performing arts professionals: Steven Tannett (Music Industry Veteran and Owner of Espresso Songs Ltd), Melanie Nicholson and Steven Brough (Directors of Dramanon Ltd), Maria Ribo-O’Malley (Professional Ballerina and ArtsEd Teacher).
TAP goes from strength to strength with the latest event which included live music, karaoke and a live auction, held at the Old Station House in Chiswick, raising in the region of £2,500.
Please put in your diary the evening of Thursday 26th May for the next TAP event. Following the success of last year's event we will be hosting another pub quiz - we may even split the teachers up this time! Details will be announced shortly, please do come along, your support is very much appreciated.
Julia Collura
Director of CPD and Careers
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Students Hit the Right Notes
Throughout this term pupils have had the chance to play a wide range of instruments from violins to saxophones, clarinets and drums. Each pupil visited our expert string, woodwind, percussion and guitar peripatetic teachers, creating all kinds of marvellous sounds. In some cases the pupils learnt a whole piece in just fifteen minutes!
The sessions sparked fantastic discussions in the classroom as we explored the contexts in which the different instruments are played. Many pupils have been inspired to take on regular lessons.
Learning an instrument enriches and inspires our pupils, complimenting their existing performing arts training.
If you are interested in your son or daughter learning an instrument or having additional vocal lessons please contact: sjean@artsed.co.uk Sabrina-Jean Hughes, Performing Arts Administrative Assistant.
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Pupils Say 'Hello Wembley!'
Written by Ella Bleakley (Year 9)
On Wednesday 2nd of March, Gilska Weerakkody (Year 11) and I took part in Voice In A Million (VIAM) at Wembley Arena. We performed in front of 12,000 people, which is by far the best thing either of us had ever done. VIAM is a show put on each year to bring children around the UK together.
We were there because Gilska and I are members of a group called Song Academy and the founders of VIAM asked our eleven members to write and perform a song especially for the event.
Building up to our performance, we met as a group every Sunday to work on our recording. Together, we performed the song ‘Right To Be Loved’, it is about children waiting and hoping for fostering or adoption. We also made a music video to go with the song.
We are aiming to raise awareness of the large number of vulnerable children in care and the difference that adoption and fostering makes in the world. Please help us get on the radio & buy 'Right To Be Loved' for 99p on iTunes if you can.
We have been invited back next year to perform the same song - and I can’t wait!
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ArtsEd Youth Dance Company: RichDance Performance 2016
Written by Christopher Reynolds (Director of ArtsEd Youth Dance Company)
On Sunday 13 March 2016, AEYDC performed as part of The RichDance Festival at The Hammond Theatre in Hampton. RichDance is Richmond’s annual dance festival that has over 35 performances from emerging dance artists, youth companies and school dance groups from Richmond and beyond.
This is the second time ArtsEd Youth Dance Company has performed at this prestigious event and yet again it was a fantastic day. The company performed the new piece ‘Chapter II’ which also featured in the School’s Dance Show.
I am incredibly proud of the students’ maturity, dedication and commitment to their performance, especially at such a busy time of the year for the Dance Department. Well done to you all and I look forward to what next term brings for AEYDC…watch this space!
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When in Paris...
ArtsEd’s History of Art and Art Students visit Paris
Written by Hannah McCall (Year 13)
Arriving at St Pancras station on an early Monday morning, we knew we were in for an exciting art adventure and we most definitely had one!
Our first stop was the Pompidou Museum. I’m not sure whether anyone had seen a group of teenagers so starstruck at Henri Matisse’s painting, ‘Luxe Calme et Volupte’ (Joy of Life). You could say we were feeling the joy of life from first sight! We could have spent days in the museum and we came out with our minds happily boggling from all the avant-garde art. It was then on to the breath-taking Notre Dame and off for our first dinner in Paris!
Day 2 brought Museum number two, the Musee d'Orsay. This was the one I had been waiting for, “Bonjour!” Manet’s Olympia! Seeing all the art works that we had learnt about prior to the trip was surreal and exciting. As Year 13 Art Historians, we got to share our knowledge with the Year 12 students. We even had some museumgoers listen to what we each had to say about the pieces.
Day 3 saw us visit the Rodin Museum, which was also his previous home. Just being there made us feel so inspired, particularly as this was also Rodin’s studio and exhibition space. The Burghers of Calais sculpture helped us find our inner Rodin and we took the opportunity to create a tableau to help us understand the figures! Later we ascended the Arc de Triomph, it was a phenomenal experience with panoramic views of the city.
My highlight of the trip was our visit to the Palais Garnier Opera House on Day 4. As an aspiring musician and composer I was in complete heaven. It is where much of Phantom of the Opera was filmed, so it certainly appealed to us! The architecture was breathtaking and seeing it helped us understand the grand plans that Napoleon III had for the Second Empire. This building is a masterpiece of the Neo Baroque and the grand reception room, which is modeled on Versailles’s Hall of Mirrors, is certainly something to behold. I don’t think I will ever forget that experience!
On our walks around Paris we were able to fully appreciate the Haussmannisation of Paris, which we’d studied in History of Art. I feel so lucky to have been able to go on the trip, I think I speak for all of the students when I say a massive thank you to Greg Beavis and Charly Loweth for taking us on this magical trip. For Year 13 students in particular, we were able to make so many more amazing memories, which made our final term at ArtsEd even more special.
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Luxe Calme et Volupte (Joy of Life), Henri Matisse
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The Burghers of Calais, Rodin
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Ceiling of the Palais Garnier Opera House
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Career Inspiration from Dramanon
Written by Emily Lucas (Year 10)
On Thursday the 28th January, Years 9 to 11 were treated to an empowering Careers talk by Melanie Nicholson and Steven Brough (parents of Zoe, Year 8) about their company Dramanon.
From the moment the talk began we were captivated as they gave us some background information about how they became interested in the acting field. Melanie herself is an Arts Educational Schools graduate. Although they were both extremely passionate about their careers, they did highlight the importance of having a back up plan.
I personally learned a lot from this experience; about first impressions, auditions and job interview techniques and even though there were many people watching, it felt as though their words were spoken solely to me.
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Live Scatter Graph in the Foyer
Written by James Rushby (Year 7)
In Maths we have been studying all types of graphs, for example bar charts, line graphs, pie charts and scatter graphs. We started to study the relationship between our shoe sizes and our heights and thought about putting the results into a scatter graph. We plotted them in our books and talked about them in class, then decided it would be a good idea to do a live scatter graph with people.
We started off by writing the shoe sizes and heights on white boards. Then we went down to the foyer and prepared the reception area ready for our live scatter graph. After everything was ready, we took our places and put the line of best fit in. We found a positive correlation, which means that the taller people have a higher shoe size. Although in one or two cases it was the other way round.
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Renowned Actor Shares Secret to Happiness
Written by Sam Rawle (Year 12)
This term Actor Yorogs Karamihos visited ArtsEd. His talk was a lot more than telling us how to approach our lives as actors or dancers - it was about how to approach anything we confront at any point in our lives.
Yorgos spoke of how he moved from Greece to America, where he now works as an Acting teacher at Stella-Adler Academy of Acting in Los Angeles. He gave us an insight into his latest television role on ITV’s The Durrells. Besides this, he spoke about his approach to work and other aspects of his life.
From the start it was clear he had a strong passion for his work and could find happiness in anything. When answering the question ‘How did you stay positive even when work wasn’t great?’ Yorgos replied that he remembered being at home holding his baby trying to get them to sleep on his shoulder with a script in his hand learning lines, that little moment was one of his happiest. He said it’s the small things that make your life worth living.
What I took away from this talk is that you could spend your whole life working towards one goal and have it taken away, but what you’re left with is all the little moments that make things worth our while. The only way to be happy, is to love what you do.
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Sixth Form Student Releases Single
Written by Neve Hardy (Year 12)
I have strived to be in the performing arts industry from as early as I can remember. Coming from a small town in the Midlands, I grew up performing with a local dance school and took part in shows and pantomimes. After attending a Sugarbabes concert in Birmingham I was inspired and wanted to be singing on the stage with them. I soon realised the world is your oyster if you have a talent and a big dream, so I moved to London.
Songwriting happened naturally. As life experiences occurred, I started to write, and then converted my writing into songs. My first single, 'Train' was released on the 14th March 2016 and is very special to me. I wrote it after a heartbreaking experience at the age of 15. Writing the song, which is a metaphor for a broken relationship, was therapeutic for me as it helped me through a bad experience.
I'm over the moon with the support from my family and friends, and hope this is the first step to something special! The song is available on iTunes, Spotify, GooglePlay and Amazon Music.
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Oh No They Didn’t! Oh Yes They Did!
Having studied the theatrical form of Pantomime this term, the students in Mr Pleasants’ Year 7 drama class put on their very own performance of Jack and the Beanstalk. The students wrote their own adaptation of the story and sourced all of the props and costume themselves for a short evening performance.
After the performance the students conducted a Q&A where they were able to educate their enthusiastic audience with research on the history of Pantomime.
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