The Record 2014 - 2015

REVIEWS OF THE YEAR

Holywell Music Room, Close Harmony performances and the newly introduced Warden’s Recitals. Two productions were successfully taken to the Edinburgh Festival 2014 – Who’s Afraid of Michael Gove (which attracted considerable media attention) and Blood Wedding. A new post of Graduate Assistant Hall Technician brought more expertise into the production side of events in the Hall and the Shell Plays saw the benefit. The autumn production of His Dark Materials in The North Wall was a huge success and the author visited and gave the cast useful insights. The Sixth Form performed their examined work in the Spring Term including Gone Girl and Love and Information - the latter also visiting the Edinburgh Festival 2015. Gaudy Week saw an excellent production of Terry Pratchett’s Mort given by the Lower School pupils. The school continues to benefit from an excellent series of professional productions in The North Wall – workshops are given to those studying drama and all members of the school are encouraged to attend performances. The Art and Design departments had a busy year mounting their own exhibitions

in The North Wall and the department – one exhibition was also given by the art teachers entitled Out of Hours. Pupils visited prestigious galleries in London and New York: Tate Modern, Frieze, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Frick, Guggenheim and MOMA. The Jewellery department was invited to Hatton Garden by an OSE to gain useful insights into the industry. A Lower School Photography competition (sponsored by Bang & Olufsen ) was held and the winning entries were exhibited in The North Wall. The Gaudy Week exhibitions included an impressive Leavers’ Show and many items found buyers. The school is lucky to have a number of accomplished dancers who are beyond the Grade 8 level in ballet and they offered a delightful ballet recital at the end of the Autumn Term. The Gaudy Week Dance Showcase displayed the wide variety of dance styles taught at the school. Speech and Drama continued to grow with a record number of entries for LAMDA exams (80) achieving excellent results (35 distinctions and 40 merits). Junior and Senior debating societies flourished throughout the year.

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