Hot on the heels of being shortlisted for its Performing Arts provision in the Independent Schools of the Year Awards, receiving a highly commended accolade in the Arts Category of the Independent Schools Association's (ISA) Remote Learning Celebration and taking home three awards from the prestigious North London Festival of Music, Speech and Drama, Justine Langford, Creative Director of the King's Theatre at Queen Ethelburga's Collegiate explains the importance of the wide-reaching skills and holistic nature of studying Performing Arts.
We’re incredibly lucky at QE in that central to our Performing Arts provision is our 310 seat on-site professional theatre – The King’s Theatre. Not only does this amazing facility enable us to produce numerous large-scale productions each year in line with industry standards, it allows us to host professional touring theatre, comedy or lectures for our QE Community and the local public. Sadly, since the first UK Government lockdown in March 2020 the doors of the King’s Theatre have been closed to the public, but we are looking forward to re-opening in the near future. QE proudly offer a provision for Performing Arts seven days a week. From ballet lessons for our students in our Early Years classes or Super Curricular lessons in Communication with Year 13, an abundance of opportunities are available to our students. The accessibility of the arts education and training has proven to boost student’s self-confidence, language and communication skills and their ability to readjust to face-to-face contact following lockdown. Students can tailor areas of their daily timetable to access more time in performing arts training. These allow students to further enrich their skills and experience. Typical examples of lessons that can be accessed are: Street Dance, Musical Theatre, Senior Drama or Contemporary Dance. At QE, students in Years 6 to 9 study the key skills and techniques necessary to develop insightful and exciting theatre. In so doing, they develop confidence, teamwork and focus to be creative performers. In Year 9, students can choose to study the Bronze Arts Award, a nationally recognised qualification. In Year 10 – 13 students can choose to study GCSE Drama, A Level Drama, take a BTEC in Performing Arts or the Cambridge Technical qualification in Performing Arts and Theatre. Beyond the curriculum, after-school activities in performing arts are available daily. KaraoQE sessions, band rehearsals, choirs, physical theatre, commercial dance, classical text, ballet, and Boys Street have all featured in the last academic year. This constantly evolves, however, and clubs and activities are created and developed to reflect student interest, need or enthusiasm. The need for focused tuition in performing arts is also recognised and student talent celebrated in individual LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) lessons, an array of instrumental and vocal tuition and King’s Academy – a Saturday morning session that enables students to work with practitioners from the industry itself. Student talent is promoted widely onsite with musicians, vocalists and performers showcasing their ability at both public and school events. Students across the school can access weekend sessions at their convenience with no prior experience necessary, just the desire to try something new. This extra-curricular programming has helped to boost student morale and supports our on-site Pastoral programme – THRIVE@QE. Students can channel frustrations, energy or available time into artsfocused activities, promoting positive mental health and offering the opportunity to work with others. We celebrate creativity through performance and produce at least three, full-scale productions each academic year. We have also managed to stream theatre productions, a QE Sofa Dance and competitions during the last academic year. We understand the importance for students to maintain their creative outlets and have supported them fully in doing so. In addition to the benefits of studying and participating in Performing Arts, for those wanting to explore a more technical or backstage theatre career, our on-site professional theatre allows staff to mentor students in a working environment. Students take roles within the Box Office, Front of House and as waiting staff for theatre events. Students can develop skills in customer service, cash sales and problem-solving. Many of our past Performing Arts students have gone on to study at acclaimed drama schools such as the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, the New York Film Academy, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and the American Academy of Dramatic Art (AADA), and in doing so have become incredible role models for our younger students.