Music
Drama ArtDanceMedia
We are now entering the redesignation process for our third phase as a specialist Arts College and are continuing to build the discreet subjects alongside a fast developing programme of support and enrichment for other departments, our partner schools and the local community. Our results were very good with some students achieving full marks at performance in both GCSE and A Level. High quality learning and teaching is found in the arts areas with some exciting new courses, including media and photography, and rising numbers of students opting for these.
Our first major production of the year was the pantomime Cinderella, a joint Arts project using features of Commedia dell Arte and demonstrating some fine acting, singing, dancing and comedy skills. It played to packed houses and was seen by many of our partner and feeder primary schools. The production formed the basis of the Performing Arts assessment and we were delighted to be informed that our previous year’s production, Matthew’s Excellent Adventure was used as an exemplar of excellence for training examiners. DVDs of other recent drama productions, Antigone and Medea, have been used as a teaching resource to other schools.
Our annual Christmas Concert was held in Brentwood Cathedral and consisted of a community event with parents, past students and friends combining to perform, amongst other pieces, the Rutter Requiem. A considerable sum was raised for Leukemia research in honour of a student who had recently died.
Our Senior and Junior Dance Companies combined to produce a wonderful entertainment evening which featured much excellent student choreography and a unique live collaboration of our string quartet, the Claire Quartet, playing two Rondos by Purcell for a specially choreographed piece.
The Drama department has organised many trips and presented many successful productions as part of their exam syllabus. Trips have included Miss Julie, Jekyll & Hyde, 39 Steps and the Life of Christ and all of Year 9 to Les Miserables. The Year 7 Drama club gave a stunning performance of Tales Untold which preceded the whole of Year 7 singing Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo. ’It’s Gonna Rain & Rain and Rain’ etc was most appropriate for the weather conditions at the time!
Both Staff and students have been involved in the recent Brentwood Operatic Production of Thoroughly Modern Milly, gaining further valuable experience, not only as performers but as technical support staff and stage management.
Performance Technology is a rapidly expanding area with girls training in the use of lighting equipment and using this to support our own and other local schools. A Year 13 student is now apprenticed to Var*lite, USA, as a production electrician with a place at Central School of Speech and Drama if she is successful this year. Our target is to expand this to Sound Technology to enable again full use of the Studio which was part of our original EMI sponsorship as a school and community resource.
The Music Department is as busy as ever, supporting community events such as performances for the local hospices and civic celebrations and giving many concerts. Over 300 students take instrumental lessons with a high pass rate for Associated Board, Trinity and London College exams which are held twice a year. The Regional Festival of Music for Youth was held in March. We are continuing our programme of subsidised ‘cello and double bass lessons for Primary School students. A particular success this year has been a programme of African drumming and singing which has been taken to six local primary schools and involved staff training with a support pack and workshop experience for staff and students led by our own Year 8 students.
Year 12 A Level students gave a series of Key Stage 1 lessons to a local Infant school and thoroughly enjoyed the preparation, delivery and amazing thank you booklet which followed!
A joint project with the London Sinfonietta, sponsored by EMI proved very popular with our Year 10 students and they were amazed at the variety of contemporary music heard at the Queen Elizabeth hall concert. It was good to have been introduced to the work by Simon Bainbridge in an excellent and amusing way by Rachel Leach and the other animateurs.
Joint projects have been set up with other school departments such as a 6 week collaboration between MFL, French and Drama. Drama has also featured in our CPD programme, aspects of Forum theatre being used to look at ways of dealing with challenging behaviour. Future collaborations are planned alongside a continuing programme of supporting trips and visiting professionals
Finally, as part of our Community programme, the Ursuline has supported Theatre visits, Storytelling and Music and Art workshops at our local Primary Schools. One local Infants school was particularly appreciative of a visit by the West Midlands Children’s Theatre which had a direct impact on Literacy skill in Year 2.
Year 5 students from our feeder primary schools were invited for an Arts day to Brentwood Ursuline and enjoyed mask making, learning a dance, drama characterisation and African drumming.
Students from these schools also attended our Summer School, this year involving Samba for the first time.
The Visual Arts are going from strength to strength with outstanding exam success (97% A* - C). The new local Queens Hospital selected 85 paintings from mixed ability students to hang in their Entrance Hall.
The Arts at BUCHS are a vibrant and dynamic area of the curriculum, much valued by the students and we look forward to continuing and enhancing this in the coming year.
