Performing Arts Specialism
The Avon Valley School has successfully maintained its Performing Arts status since it moved into the new building back in September 2007. Each of the disciplines, Dance, Drama and Music, strive to ensure that students develop creativity and make good academic progress through the provision of consistently enjoyable and interesting lessons.
All students study Music, Drama and Dance in Years 7 and 8. In Year 9 students study the Arts Award, either in one of the performing arts or art, giving further opportunity to develop creativity whilst completing a nationally recognised qualification. All the performing arts subjects are very popular amongst the students and the numbers electing to study music, dance and drama at GCSE remains consistently high. Additionally, there are a number of extra-curricular clubs available for students who would like to develop their abilities further.
In recent years The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College has developed a reputation for staging musical theatre performances of an incredibly professional standard. Each of our shows, A Christmas Carol, Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, and Matilda included over 100 students from various age groups in performance, back stage or front of house capacities. These performances have all been incredibly well received by the public, becoming real focal points within the local community. Main cast performers have taken part in workshops with local primary school children and special matinee performances have been organised for the residents of a local care home.
Our recent production of Mary Poppins Jr. was a huge success, wowing audiences every night with the acting, singing, and dancing. A particular highlight was seeing Mary Poppins float across the stage on a specially hired flight system! The staff and cast then went on to perform at The National School Theatre Awards in London, and we are thrilled to announce that we won the award of Best Musical 2024 for our production of Mary Poppins!
Although we work incredibly hard with students within a classroom context, staff also appreciate the need for students to experience Performing Arts in a variety of other contexts. In recent years a number of trips have been organised including residential trips to London where students have experienced West End shows and taken part in workshops at Pineapple Dance Studios. There are also frequent visits to Birmingham to view a variety of shows such as Mary Poppins, Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker or The National Theatre production of One Man, Two Guvnors. We have also been able to collaborate with Warwick Arts Centre to showcase the talents of our male dancers. These dance shows have been incredibly popular and have been attended by audiences from all across the West Midlands.
The Performing Arts Faculty are an incredibly impassioned and motivated team that have trained at some of the country’s best institutions. The years of training that each individual teacher has undertaken leave them with a wealth of knowledge and professional experience to pass on to students.
Due to our specialist status we are proud to be able to admit 10% of each new cohort based on their aptitude, or potential, in the Performing Arts. Admissions information and the application form can be accessed by clicking here.