Expressive Arts

In addition to ensuring that our learners leave school with a broad range of qualifications and skills, we also believe that it is important that they gain confidence in themselves in order to set themselves up for later life. The Expressive Arts department works across all year groups in order to achieve this, having the intention to allow every student to feel confidence in presenting themselves in front of other people. In order to achieve this, we use a range of elements designed to unlock creative potential and utilise vital teamwork. In Drama, learners have the opportunity to look at different styles and forms of theatre and put them into practice, focusing on an ambitious range of performance skills and learning about theatre of different times of the past and various cultures. We aim to help develop these skills using regular and targeted verbal feedback, which also models for students how to build a robust vocabulary of analysis. In Music we blend together a wide range of practical and theoretical skills, allowing for a good understanding of a range of world styles that can be underpinned by piano skills and an ability to use music technology for both creative and practical means. This is all connected by termly assessment, often practical in nature, allowing the focus of each skill to be fluidly adapted to individual needs.

We do not believe that Expressive Arts should be simply limited to the classroom, and as such offer opportunities for our students to put their practical skills to good use. We have a long tradition of whole school musicals, including “Matilda”, “Legally Blonde”, “We Will Rock You” and “High School Musical”, which allow students from every year group to get together and create something as a team, utilising skills from Music and Drama. This has given many of our pupils the chance to push themselves, and by allowing any student who wants to membership of the cast, encapsulates the ambition we have to promote confidence and self-belief through Expressive Arts.