St Mary’s College in Hull has an impressive proscenium theatre and an ambitious programme of productions. Director of Performance, Neil Wood, has worked in musical theatre professionally and he draws on this background in his approach to teaching: I always say to my students right at the beginning that when they walk through the doors … Continue reading rehearsal room practice
Author: beckyparry
mistakes are often the basis of creativity
Esther Tyler-Ward, from Digitech school in Bristol, is a teacher of art and photography who is participating in the Tale research project. Here she shares her reflections about her engagement with the Tate's Common Projects project: Tate's Common Projects 2015/16 was a year long project that brought together artists, educators and curators to explore art education. At our initial … Continue reading mistakes are often the basis of creativity
it’s a different kind of hard work
In this post Anton Franks reflects on his visit to one of the RSC partnership schools: Arriving at Ark Helenswood Academy lower school site on a sunny June morning in Hastings, I am met by Niall Whitehead, a drama teacher and the Director of Performing Arts in the school. He’s a very busy man – … Continue reading it’s a different kind of hard work
seeing and assembling
During my second research visit to Thomas Tallis school I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to observe an artist, Dafna Talmor working with year eleven and thirteen photography students. Dafna’s recent work entitled, Constructed Landscapes is described as consisting of: staged landscapes made of collaged and montaged colour negatives shot across different locations that … Continue reading seeing and assembling
the play is not always the thing
In September 2016, over 30 lead teachers from the RSC Lead Associate Schools and theatre practitioners from Regional Theatre Partners came to Stratford-upon-Avon for the first national CPDL event of our new Associate Schools programme. The three days were designed to: Build capacity among teachers and theatre practitioners to lead the programme in their … Continue reading the play is not always the thing
close encounters
Earlier in the year I was in Halewood School, visiting Art, Photography and Graphics staff and students. I was lucky enough to visit on a day when some of the students had returned from a trip to Barcelona. It was clear that the art, the galleries, the architecture and the food had all made an … Continue reading close encounters
cashing in the learning
My research visit to St Albans school in Highgate, Birmingham concluded with an observation of a poetry lesson. A year nine class were undertaking a scaffolded approach to writing their critical responses to Shelley's poem ‘Ozymandias'. The aim of the lesson was to enable the students to transform their verbal responses to the poem into written … Continue reading cashing in the learning
where’s that going to get you?
In many of the schools we have visited, students complain about the ‘where’s that going to get you?’ question. This question refers to their choice of art, drama, music, dance or photography as a GCSE subject. If we follow the question's rather literal logic we might expect all students who have taken History to become Historians. Putting our collective understanding … Continue reading where’s that going to get you?
redeeming Shylock
During my visit to King Ethelbert School in Kent The headteacher, Kate Greig, attended the annual Dimbleby Lecture, this year presented by Gregory Doran, Artistic Director at the RSC. I felt at first hand Kate’s delight at the school being mentioned during this speech because of their commitment to teaching Shakespeare actively. Kate believes the … Continue reading redeeming Shylock
being a tree
There is a myth that ‘doing drama’ regularly involves 'being a tree'. This was something the year 12 students at the Canterbury Academy were keen to highlight, having been trees in a recent ensemble production of ‘The Dream: Met by Moonlight’ at The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. Although they shared this experience with a great … Continue reading being a tree
tale 