BRIT School News....

Screen 13 Charity Success!

2011-03-28T10:37:00.015+01:00

Back in February, Year 13 Music Students blew audiences away two nights in a row with outstanding performances of music from the movies to live footage of the films.

The Music Department's annual charity show Screen 13 once again gave all its proceeds to two chosen charities, which this year were the National Autistic Society and the Royal Marsden Cancer Care Unit.

Featuring songs from The Italian Job, Flashdance, My Girl, Ghost, Toy Story and Moulin Rouge to name but a few, the musicians excelled themselves, and raised very close to £1000 for each of their chosen charities. Well done, Year 13 Music Strand!

Watch out for more performances from Year 11, 12 and 13 Music Strand later this term!

Linden Bridge feels the benefit of Music and Movement workshops

2010-09-29T11:19:00.005+01:00

Year 13 Music students went to Linden Bridge School in Worcester Park this week to take part in a music workshop with autistic students from 5 to 19 years old.

Linden Bridge caters for children and young people with autism and social communication difficulties, and the school has received four consecutive "outstanding" gradings from Ofsted. Under the guidance of BRIT School Music Teacher Conor Doherty, the Linden Bridge students took part in music and movement classes, learning about drumming and rhythm in small groups.

Year 13 Music student Jessica Thomas said "it was really exciting to see other people get excited about the music we were making together. As well as us teaching them, they were teaching us so much. I would love to go back and work with them again."

The BRIT School Music Department has worked regularly with the staff and students at Linden Bridge School over the last few years, and continue to develop further links and projects.

New Year 12 students 'Get Together' in the canteen- Year 12 Visual Arts and Design students offering a helping hand with little art interventions....

2010-09-06T18:06:00.010+01:00

Having only been here for 3 days, Year 12 Visual Arts and Design students are already having a show- making fun and participatory art pieces encouraging students in the canteen 'get together' to make friends through the power of art- it was a great way to start conversations and break the ice, here are some examples;
making friendship bracelets, mapping memories/encounters of the site so far, sharing chit chat over a cuppa with a builder, finding match made friends in a tent, finding a partner who has the same handmade pendant as you,making a friendship tree with students thumb prints.

see our flickr page for more and for other visual treats in the gallery of our work

British Theatre Guide 4 star review for Edinburgh Show

2010-08-30T21:17:00.002+01:00

The British Theatre guide has awarded a four star review to the Year 14 Bridge Theatre company show that played three weeks at the international Edinburgh Fringe festival. Here is what they said about the show that the students created and helped finance with the generous support of the Brit Trust and friends of the company. Congratulations to the Bridge company.

Something About Jumpers

The Bridge Theatre Company
Sweet Grassmarket.
****

“Abandoned in the dump of the city, Levi struggles to cope inside the social care system.” The “jumpers” here are firstly about the piece of clothing. But that doesn’t mean that this tight, fast-moving snap of this disposable and disposed generation isn’t loaded with symbolism.

This large cast inhabits this smallest of stages. We follow Levi through the adventure of navigating the new world he is thrust into. His one foundation is the “jumper” that he has stolen away with him. Tony Portsmouth as Levi is ultimately sympathetic and endearing. And he fits into a suitcase.

The cast should be acknowledge for their commitment to the project; not a weak link. They do each other and the material service. The production elements, especially the videos that are projected onto the “jumper”, add to the production. The Bridge Theatre Company are true to their mission statement; “to create theatre that reflects day to day living.”

BRIT Music students discover the wonderful world of Javanese Gamelan!

2010-07-30T09:23:00.010+01:00

This week Year 12 Music students visited the Royal College of Music in London to take part in Javanese gamelan workshops. Under the expert tuition of gamelan specialist John Pawson, students learnt about the history and culture of these instruments and performed some traditional music as well as improvising their own pieces.

Playing xylophones, metallophones, drums and gongs, students experienced first hand this music from Indonesia, and gained a lot from the sessions. Exploring gamelan and music from other cultures is key to expanding students' musical awareness, and contributes directly towards the Ethnomusicology unit of their BTEC National Diploma in Music.

The BRIT School-Ghanaian Partnership gets underway

2010-07-23T13:41:00.005+01:00

The BRIT School's ongoing collaborative work with Tema Secondary School in Ghana continued today with a very exciting filming session in the Obie Theatre. Dance, Music, TTA, Theatre and BDC strands all joined forces to produce new works for our collaborative DVD which will launch the schools' official partnership project in October 2010.

Based around the theme of strength in community, and using South African a capella gospel music as well as a mash up of Ewe drumming and dubstep, the students from all strands once again demonstrated their versatility and adaptability, putting together this work in a very limited amount of time.

The project has developed from ethnomusicologist and Music teacher Conor Doherty's passion and experience for West African drumming, and he visited Ghana in 2008 to begin the makings of the partnership.

Year 12 Music Strand takes Cannizaro Park by storm!

2010-07-21T11:13:00.006+01:00

Fresh from their Festiva performance at the Ashcroft Theatre only three week ago, Year 12 Music strand took to the stage again with a brand new show at the Cannizaro Park Festival in Wimbledon. Performing "Hits from the Noughties" including songs by Muse, Dizzee Rascal, Coldplay, Beyonce and Take That, the students got the crowd of over 800 people on their feet and dancing the night away to some outstanding live performances on this large outdoor stage.

A massive thank you to all the dancers from Musical Theatre strand who really added to the performance.

Watch out for more performances from all year groups in the Music Department next term!

Finding Space for the little people

2010-07-15T08:59:00.001+01:00

July 1st saw a special day organised for many of our neighbouring nursery and early years schools. Year 10 students put on a selection of events and shows around the theme of Space and invited the schools to spend a day with us in outer space. There were shows from dance (Setara and her journey to the stars), theatre, music, musical theatre and even glove puppets with visual art and design. The day started for the children with the mad professor making his test tubes bubble and explode and along the way the nursery children met with the planets and other astrological themed characters.
And did the children enjoy it? Well here's a response from one of the local nursery schools
"it was a fantastic day - we had a great time. We received lot of comments from the parents saying how wonderful the students are and also just how talented. We appreciated that the students were so kind and caring towards our children.

Thanks to you all the staff and students for organising a great day."

Best Wishes
Anita Head Teacher
Selhurst Children's centre

Strawberry Picking this week

2010-07-13T11:01:00.002+01:00

This week is the 8th Strawberry Picking season of new plays. This annual event is a collaboration between the theatre strand and the Warehouse theatre in Croydon. During their script writing lessons all year 12 students have been learning to write plays. From this collection of over 60 plays, 9 have been chosen to perform in repertoire from July 13th to the 15th. The plays are directed by the students and operated by year 12 TTa students. The plays are challenging, funny, insightful and brave. You can often get tickets on the door and you can usually get three plays for the price of one and at £2 a ticket that's bargain. Performances begin at 2 and run all day on Tuesday and from 4-8 on Wednesday and from 3.30 until 8 on the Thursday. The warehouse theatre is situated next to east Croydon Station. If you are interested in young people and new theatre this event is for you.

Musical Theatre storm hits Elmwood Juniors

2010-06-30T15:43:00.004+01:00

This week a group of Musical Theatre students have been spending the week at Elmwood Junior school. As part of our community projects students involved in 'After The Storm' have been running Performing Arts workshops based on the themes of the performance. As well as introducing 'After The Storm.' students have had the opportunity to engage pupils awareness of our planet through the performing arts. It is an incredibly worth while, rewarding and challenging project. Jessica Lovick Earle said 'It's been really challenging working out what kind of material to choose that would motivate and interst the pupils. Running the workshop was hard as you have to make sure you include and develop every pupil in the room. It has been a very rewarding project and we are very grateful that Elmwood Junior School allowed us to come in and work with them.'

After The Storm

2010-06-30T15:28:00.004+01:00

Next week The Brit School will be performing 'After The Storm' at The Fairfield Halls and The Bloomsbury Theatre in Euston. The schools annual collabaritive project allows students from every strand to contribute to one event. This year The Brit School company will be entertaing thousands of Primary Schools on board the SS Beagle as they attempt to save endangered animals from around the world. The project is a major event in the school calender and is one of the richest opportunities to contribute to our local commmunity. In the first 6 minutes alone you will see a massive collaberation between BDC, TTA, VAD, Musical theatre, Dance, Music and Theatre departments.

There are still tickets available for the evening performance at The Bloomsbury Theatre. Please call the box office on 02086655242. Tickets priced at £8.

Visual Arts and Design Bloomsbury Community and Leading Edge Project....After the Storm..

2010-06-25T12:01:00.007+01:00

This year selected Year 12 BTEC National Diploma Visual Arts students are working with Addington High school's Year 8 Gifted and Talented students to create animation, sets and visuals for the Bloomsbury Theatre collaboration across the school. So far our students have been designing and delivering workshops to Addington involving screen printing, model making for sets and animation characters, T-shirt design, split pin puppets, typography and much more . All of this work has now been brought back to The BRIT School in order to use and develop for the show.....Go to the Visual Arts and design blog to view student blogs and photos see how the project is developing....

Imagine a new Academy backed by the BRIT School

2010-06-24T15:17:00.010+01:00

One year on from the BRIT School's hugely successful "One Vision/New Version" music concert performance in Birmingham's Centenary Sqaure, the new Academy inspiring that event is making rapid and impressive progress. The Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA) is a major £25 million building project opening in the country's second city in 2011. This ground-breaking new regional Academy has just launched its student recruitment website http://www.boa-academy.co.uk/ and will run its first open events on 18th and 20th September 2010 at Millennium Point.

The BRIT School is proud to be one of the founding partners, along with Maverick TV, of this state of the art Academy, which will specialise in creative arts, performing arts and digital media for 14-19 year olds across the West Midlands. Principal Designate, Gaynor Cheshire, joined the Academy in May this year and has benefitted from continuing specialist input and support from the BRIT School. There are many exciting plans for future creative collaborative projects between the BRIT School and BOA.

BOA has already generated a strong presence in the West Midlands with a wide reaching partnership engagement programme with community, industry and educational enterprises. The Academy also benefits from having a leading UK educational sponsor, Ormiston Trust, and strong higher education and training links through its co-sponsor Birmingham City University, which includes the Birmingham School of Acting and the Birmingham Conservatoire.

Keep an eye on the progress of the Academy's building as updates appear on this blog!

Festiva '10

2010-06-17T13:43:00.003+01:00

UPDATE

Year 12 and Year 10 students performed an amazing show last night in front of a massive crowd at the Fairfield Halls Ashcroft Theatre. Their performances included varied interpretations of classic songs from Samba to Ska.

Congratulations to all those involved...

Watch this space for the final total raised for Croydon Commitment

"The BRIT School Music students are back supporting the work of Croydon Commitment, a local charity raising money for a Croydon Trust fund.

The event on Wednesday 23rd June at 7.30pm will see students perform a musical spectacular of classic songs from the 1950's through to the 1990's.

For more information and to buy tickets contact the school box office."

Twist and Pulse make Britain's Got Talent semi-finals

2010-05-31T07:30:00.005+01:00

This week dance duo Twist and Pulse will perform live as part of ITVs show Britain's Got Talent. Year 13 dance student Ashley Glazebrook and former student and current teacher Glenn Murphy have been dancing together for years and in the last 18 months have been performing as Twist and Pulse. They gained standing ovations at the Dance showcases at the Shaw Theatre and the Greenwich Theatre. Both of the dancers are very respected choreographers, Glenn has been teaching our urban dance classes recently and Ashley was the winner of the schools Maureen Milgram award in 2009. You can also see them as part of the new film, Street Dance. Good luck to Twist and Pulse.

Cush stars in Manchester

2010-05-25T09:32:00.002+01:00

over the past few years the Newsfeed has followed the success of former student Cush Jumbo. Cush was in many successful shows at the school including Semi Monde in the first ever common ground. After graduating from the Brit theatre course Cush joined the prestigous acting course at Central School of Speech and Drama and has gone on to perform at the Globe and in the BBCs TORCHWOOD. She has also returned to the school to run workshops, work on a new musical and give advice to current students. She is now playing Eliza in Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. The Sunday Times described her performance as "a beautifully balanced performance: both a wounded soul and a fighting spirit".

year 14 Bridge company triumphs in Brighton

2010-05-25T09:26:00.004+01:00

The year 14 Bridge company have just finished three performances of their play, SOMETHING ABOUT JUMPERS at the Brighton Fringe Festival. Playing to packed houses in the Temple venue the company attracted lots of press attention and was the Hot Tip of the day over the week-end. They are performing a special performance of the play at the Southwark Playhouse on Wednesday 9th June to raise money for their residency at the International Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer. If you'd like more information on this special event then contact Imogen Brodie at ibrodie@brit.croydon.sch.uk. Tickets are also available from our box office.

Dance and theatre students tour Sweden

2010-05-25T09:20:00.002+01:00

Today another chapter in our successful work with the European project Commenius begins. A group of dance and theatre students will be taking work to a school in Stockholm, Sweden. The students will be performing two plays from the Springboard season and dances from the year 13 repertoire. The plays they will be performing will be Gutted and battered which tells the story of a Cornish community and the beautiful Rosie and the Tree which is gaining friends on the Internet for its skillful animations. The school in Sweden will be sharing their work with our students and their will be opportunities for shared workshops.

Phil Gunderson nominated for award

2010-05-24T17:22:00.002+01:00

Theatre teacher, Phil Gunderson, has been nominated for a theatre award. Phil's one man show, The Bridge, has been playing as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival. This witty and moving show, that has been developed by the Nightingale theatre has been nominated for a best new writing award. Congratulations to Phil.

Nature:Nurture versus The City: Visual Arts and Design shows this week

2010-05-17T18:44:00.005+01:00

Thursday 20th May 4.30-8.30pm, visual arts studios, click on flyer for more information

Following our great off site success in YBsA at The Rag Factory, off Brick Lane, East London, (reported here in East London Lines and images in our flickr gallery here) you are warmly invited to come to our Year 11 and Year 13 BTEC First and National Diploma Art and Design end of course shows, the former group has responded to the theme Nature:Nurture and the latter, The City.

Students are showcasing their Final Major Project work through a wide range of visual arts and design disciplines, from animation to painting, to video, printmaking, performance art, sculpture and fashion illustration. Year 13s will have browsers displaying their final portfolios and also sketchbooks will be accompanying the show for the Year 11s.

Hope to see you there!

Our collaborative project with St Christopher's begins.....

2010-05-17T13:09:00.003+01:00

Y12 Visual Arts and Design students are embarking on a collaborative project with St Christopher's Hospice for a second year. Click here to see our blog in response to the project and how our collaboration unfolds....

Bridge Company in Brighton

2010-05-12T08:13:00.002+01:00

The year 14 Bridge company perform their play Something about jumpers as part of the Brighton Festival next week-end. This beautiful and moving play explores the fast paced life of a boy in care in modern Britain. With an ensemble of 16 young and talented actors the show will be at the Laughing Horse temple venue from May 21st to May 23rd at 1.45p.m

Ticket Hotline 01273 782276
E: boxoffice@brightonfestivalfringe.org.uk

Acting students in celebration show at SOHO Theatre

2010-05-12T08:04:00.002+01:00

The schools annual celebration show of year 13 actors takes place at Soho Theatre in London's West End. For the past four years the theatre department has invited agents, Drama schools and directors to see the work of their graduating students in a selection of scenes and speeches. Many have gone on to gain professional work because of this opportunity. The show is at 1.00 p.m on Tuesday 18th May. The show lasts an hour. You can be part of this excellent experience by purchasing tickets at £4 from our box office. Telephone 0208 665 5242

The Globe invitation kicks off week of Shakespeare celebrations

2010-04-26T08:21:00.002+01:00

On Shakespeare's birthday students from musical theatre and theatre were invited to join the audience of the final dress rehearsal of the Globes new production of Macbeth. Directed by Lucy Bailey in her experimental style; the students were treated to a rare opportunity to see a world class theatre in action. This week the school celebrates Shakespeare with three radical productions. Set in the wasted days of the late 1960s MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM kicks off the season on Tuesday. This is followed by the roaring comedy TWELFTH NIGHT set in World War 2 and on Thursday the season closes with MUCH ADO NOTHING which is set in the rock n roll era of the 1950s. All productions run at 4.30 and 7.00 and run for approximately 80 minutes. Tickets are £4. Ring the schools box office for details. The season has been designed, stage managed and produced by the Year 12 Technical Theatre students and has been specifically focused to highlight costume, lighting, sound and set. Tuesday will see our first ever signed performance as part of our on going collaboaration with Oak Lodge.

Brit Adult gains M.A place

2010-04-17T20:07:00.002+01:00

Paul Bygraves is a former theatre student who recently re-started his wish to be an actor by joining our adult acting classes. These classes gave him the confidence to apply for drama school. He contacted the school this week to say that he has been offered a place on the prestigious MA in Acting at East 15. Congratulations to Paul. If you'd like to find out about our adult classes then you can read more in the Adult Classes section of our website.

Good week for Rox and Kate

2010-04-17T20:02:00.004+01:00

It's been a good week for two former students. Rox, a highly tipped soul singer, gained excellent reviews for her duet with Paul Weller in his special BBC concert and Kate Nash has received encouraging reviews for her new album, My best friend is you, which is out on Monday 19th April.

Searchparty at BAC Festival

2010-04-05T21:52:00.003+01:00

Former student Jodie Hawkes who graduated nearly 10 years ago has had her experimental theatre company, Searchparty, premiere a work in progress at the prestigious Forest Fringe Festival at Battersea Arts Centre last week-end. Searchparty have been working in a variety of unusual environments over the years including a piece of experimental theatre that includes challenging the audience to a game of table tennis. For more info go to www.searchpartyperformance.org.uk

Croydon Film Festival

2010-04-05T21:45:00.003+01:00

The school is well represented at the 2010 Croydon film festival. On 7th April there is a screening of new British film FREESTYLE with a soundtrack chosen by former theatre student Bashy. On Saturday April 10th Film and Digital Arts teacher Ken McGill takes part in a film makers conference with a section chaired by Assistant Principal Simon Collins. On the 10th there will be a screening of Ken's legendary documentary about England football manager Graham Taylor. For more information go to www.croydonfilmfestival.org.uk

Louis in The Spotlight!

2010-03-29T08:34:00.006+01:00

Ex Student, Louis Maskill, (Musical Theatre)has been nominated for the annual Spotlight Prize. Twenty Two drama students have been nominated for the annual Spotlight Prize in 2010.

Each nominee has been selected by their CDS drama school as the best actor from their graduating year. The nominees will now perform at the prestigious Spotlight Showcase on 20 July 2010, to an exclusive VIP audience of agents, casting professionals and others.

A panel of industry experts will award two prizes based on the performances:

Best Actor/Actress (£2,000)
Highly Commended Actor/Actress (£1,500)
The prizes will be announced on 20 July 2010.

All nominated students also win a free year’s membership of Spotlight, and a free ticket to the Spotlight Student Summer Ball on 30 May. All nominees will also be appearing in the upcoming showcases and performances given by CDS drama schools. Strand Director, Kerry McGrandles said 'We are delighted that Louis has been nominated for such a prestigious award. He was always such a committed and hard working student. It is wonderful to hear that his hard work has really paid off. We all wish him luck.'

Oh What a Beautiful Collaboration!

2010-03-26T11:26:00.006Z

This week the Musical Theatre Department opened it's Year 13 performance season with their version of the 'Rodgers and Hammerstein' classic 'Oklahoma!' The show is a vibrant tale of community, hope and the flaws in trying to achieve this. Once again Musical Theatre is supported by the excellent work of the TTA Department and their students, as well as support from the music strand and their incredibly talented students. It has been exciting to see young people tackle such technically demanding material and watch their skills really develop. 'Oklahoma' continues next Tuesday and Wednesday at 7pm in the Obie Theatre. Grab a ticket now. Please call the Box office on 0208 665 5242. £5 concession £8 Full price.

YBsA Young BRIT School Artist show @ Rag Factory, East london

2010-03-23T18:12:00.009Z

Hello

Phew! It's a very busy week....We are now preparing and packing up all the work ready for the van loading shortly as we move out of the art studios of the BRIT School, and into the Rag Factory, heart of the East London art scene. This is for 3 wonderful and jam packed days of exhibitions, events, community workshops. From independent departmental projects in Fashion illustration, Painting, Photography, to collaborations with English (Poetic Portraits), and Theatre (Visuals for the Man Who and The Trial) to showcasing work in St Christopher's Hospice, St Giles Special School, and Rockmount Primary School, its all there, as a giant celebration of what we do.

If you've not found out about us yet- here's the low down:

YOUNG BRIT SCHOOL ARTISTS is a showcase of work by 14-19 year old artists and designers, experimenting with painting, photography, drawing, craft, jewellery, fashion illustration, graphics, textiles, print, live art, video, sculpture, installation, community projects, interdisciplinary arts.

YBsA @ The Rag Factory16-18 Heneage Street, London, E1 5LJ

Private View with live events (£4/£2)Saturday 27th March 2010 5-9pm (Arrive early, tickets on the door only)

Includes the alTURNERtive prize judging with special guest judges Oliver Evans, Assistant Director at Maureen Paleys Gallery and Arts correspondent for Dazed and Confused, and Artist Yara El-Sherbini at 7pm

Additional opening times (free entry)

Saturday 27th March, 11am-4pm

Sunday 28th March, 11am-3pm

Click the flyer above for details.

We've had inteviews today with East London Lines and are featured on Art Rabbit website, and other people are writing about us and promoting us too, City Guide East London, Tower Hamlets website

Hope you can make it, we'd love to meet you.

Visual Arts and Design

Bridge Student joins NSDF Ensemble

2010-03-12T15:30:00.002Z

Tony Portsmouth who is currently part of the year 14 Theatre company, THE BRIDGE, has been selected to be part of the National Student Drama Festival ensemble. The judges for the NSDF visited the school in February and were very impressed by the schools entry , the beautiful and powerful play SOMETHING ABOUT JUMPERS. The play was shorlisted and is going on to perform at festivals in Brighton and Edinburgh. The judges selected Tony after seeing hundreds of students in plays up and down the country. Being part of the ensemble will allow Tony to work with many professional directors, writers and theatre practitioners during the NSDF evnt in Scarborough this April . You can watch the advert for SOMETHING ABOUT JUMPERS on this site.

Ola directs at the Unicorn Theatre

2010-03-05T09:44:00.002Z

Ola Ince graduated from the school in 2007 and gained a place on the prestigious directing course at Rose Bruford drama school. Whilst at the school Ola directed a number of productions including a play about knife crime which toured local schools and youth groups. This week you can see her work at the famous Unicorn Theatre in London. She is directing Athol Fugards THE ISLAND. Ring 0207 6450560 for more details

Kate Nash returns with lots of friends on board

2010-03-05T09:34:00.004Z

Former student Kate Nash returns to the music scene with a new single and video DO WA DOO. Kate has always worked with friends that she made at the school. Laura Dockerill has often toured with her and helped make her art work, Brett Alaimo plays guitar in her band, and other students have been part of her magazine and danced with her on stage at Glastonbury and as part of her Made of Bricks tour. She asked for Brit school students to perform at her end of tour party. Her latest video is crowded with former students in cameo performances. Go to Kate's site to watch the video.

Easter School for young actors at the Brit school

2010-03-05T09:26:00.002Z

Imaginary Forces, a professional theatre company formed by theatre teachers from the Brit school, is running another a week long residency at the school for young actors. The easter school runs from April 6th to April the 9th and is for any young person who has an interest in drama, acting and being involved in plays. Groups are for 11-13 year olds and from 14-18 year olds. The course ends with a performance created by the students. Phone co-artistic director Imogen Brodie on 07967 709321 for more details.

Elarica and Theo walk into Albert Square

2010-03-05T09:17:00.003Z

After Simone James has established herself as a regular in Eastenders two more former Brit school theatre students join the famous soap opera. Elarica Gallagher,last seen in Harry Potter, and Theo Barklem Biggs who has made many TV appearances in the last year since leaving the school are part of the new gang in town.

Elarica who also works as a model was part of the first Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender assembly at the Brits some 6 years ago and organised a fashion show for Oxfam back in 2006. Theo, who was signed after appearing in the theatre departments West End speech show, performed in many plays at the Brit school including Ritual of Blood, Sunshine and Twelfth Night at both school and at the Dell as part of the RSc season. Theo was also part of the second Year 14 Bridge Company

Our End of Life work is taken on by other schools in the country.

2010-02-20T13:19:00.003Z

For the past four years we have been working at St.Christopher's Hospice with their End of Life Schools Project. This has seen students write plays, compose songs, create animations, art works, films and radio programmes with patients from the Hospice. Last year we were invited to visit the North West Conference for Schools Project work in Blackpool to work with other schools and hospices on how they could create collaborative creative projects between schools and people in palliative care.

This year art and theatre students returned to Blackpool to present their work. This included two year 13 art students showing their strands animations that they had created with the patients in the summer of 2009. It also saw students from the theatre department show their play "What it means to be living".

The real success of the day were presentations from Lancaster, Blackburn and Wigan who are now doing similar projects to what the Brits have previously run with hundreds of children involved.

Nigel Hartley, the Director of Supportive Care at St.Christopher's described the students as "amazing....their work is always so emotional and powerful".

Eve Richardson, the Chief Executive of the The National Council for Palliative Care called the work "breath taking and inspirational".

The event encouraged more people to get involved in the Dying Matters agenda. There is a week of activities that you can find out about in March at dyingmatters.org.

On the 17th of March the school will be at the House of Commons to show their work to politicians and other interested people.

You can see more of this work at BRITVISUALARTSDOESSTCHRISTOPHERS09.BLOGSPOT.COM.

TTa students work on the Brit awards

2010-02-20T13:04:00.004Z

It's been a great couple of weeks for the Technical Theatre Arts course at the school. Following an award for a former student (see previous blog) two of their students were invited to work on the lighting and set construction of the world famous Brit Awards. Alex Peters and Henry Gillet spent most of the pre production week of the awards ceremony at Earls Court getting a chance of the lifetime to work on this extraordinary show.

The TTA course which gives students expert vocational training in lighting, sound, set design, stage management and costume design still has places available for 2010. Check out their web site for more details and ring for an application form.

Simone features in famous Eastenders episode

2010-02-20T12:57:00.002Z

Former theatre student Simone James featured in last nights famous live 25th anniversary episode of Eastenders. Simone plays Becca Swanson a friend of Stacey Slater who we now know killed Archie.

Simone studied theatre for four years at the school and went on to study acting at Rose Bruford. She has appeared for the National Theatre of Scotland and in episodes of Holby and Silent Witness.

YBsA- YOUNG BRIT SCHOOL ARTISTS show in East London, 27 & 28th March 2010

2010-02-17T15:07:00.006Z

YBsA flyer above: click to enlarge

Hello! You are invited to come along to our forthcoming annual show, this year at The Rag Factory, off Brick Lane, East London- details as follows;

YOUNG BRIT SCHOOL ARTISTS is a showcase of work by 14-19 year old artists and designers, experimenting with painting, photography, drawing, craft, jewellery, fashion illustration, graphics, textiles, print, live art, video, sculpture, installation, community projects, interdisciplinary arts.

YBsA @ The Rag Factory
16-18 Heneage Street, London, E1 5LJ

Private View with live events (£4/£2)
Saturday 27th March 2010 5-9pm

Includes the alTURNERtive prize judging with special guest judges Oliver Evans, Assistant Director at Maureen Paleys Gallery and Arts correspondent for Dazed and Confused, and Artist Yara El-Sherbini at 7pm

Additional opening times (free entry)
Saturday 27th March, 11am-4pm
Sunday 28th March, 11am-3pm

At the Private View, come hang out in East London with the new up and coming YOUNG BRIT SCHOOL ARTISTS. Vote for the people’s prize in alTURNERtive painting and photography, browse the wares in a crafty market stall, and take part in a collaborative tribute to Alexander McQueen. You could win a young artists work in the art raffle, participate in live art events, enjoy a cupcake or a few iced gems, washed down with a glass of fizzy pop or two......Wear your best party frocks!

Please note:
Tickets for the Private View on the door
only, arrive early to avoid queuing.

Technical Theatre award for Luke

2010-02-15T08:00:00.003Z

Former Technical theatre arts student, Luke Jackson has won the ‘My Generation Award’ at the TPI award (Total Production Industry Award) hosted Chris Evans.
Luke left the school in 2008 and has gone on to work at the National Theatre, White Light and many others. The My Generation Award is designed to recognise up and coming talent within the industry. This is a fantastic achievement for Luke and a great reminder of the strength of the Technical theatre Arts course. Luke was key to many of the shows at the Brit school including Sky and Carousel.

Roy Williams visits common ground

2010-01-22T10:48:00.002Z

On Wednesday the school was excited to have the play write Roy Williams attend the performance of his play, DAYS OF SIGNIFICANCE. Roy is highly regarded for his contemporary plays including FALLOUT, SING YOUR HEART OUT FOR THE LADS, and BABY GIRL. He is currently working on a new play for the Royal Court. He asked to speak to the cast at the end of the show and thanked them for honouring his work. He hopes to return to offer workshops later in the year. The last performance of DAYS OF SIGNIFICANCE is Wednesday the 27th January at 7.00 p.m. Some tickets still available.

faith..in common ground

2010-01-22T10:31:00.004Z

The final part of common ground opened last night. FAITH is a whole year group ensemble physical theatre piece that explores belief, religion and the search for meaning. The students use their physical theatre skills to examine Buddhism, Shamanism, Native American belief systems and many more. The show has a soundtrack that includes the yeah yeah yeahs, the flaming lips, Beethoven, muse and drum and bass. The audience feedback has been really positive with students describing it as "amazing..like nothing else I've seen before", "I hope I'm as good as that when I'm in year 13", "very different but in a good way". Come and see what they are talking about. Faith lasts for an hour, tickets are £4 from the Brit school box office and performs next Thursday the 28th of February at 4.30 and 7.00 pm

Days of Significance opens tonight

2010-01-14T12:41:00.003Z

DAYS OF SIGNIFICANCE, the third play in the common ground season of theatre events opens tonight. Roy William's play, only recently performed to world wide acclaim by the Royal Shakespeare Company, is a savage and witty play that explodes how the war in Iraq affects young soldiers and their friendships both in war and at home. Painful, heart warming and very honest the play is directed by Simon Stephens and produced by the Technical Theatre Arts students. RING 0208 665 8617 FOR TICKETS. Tickets are £4.00
It is also on Wednesday 20th January at 4.30 and Wednesday the 27th at 7.00 pm.

Frankie says MARKET BOY IS A HIT

2010-01-14T12:35:00.003Z

Common Ground opened on Tuesday night with the romantic political comedy MARKET BOY. Playing to packed house despite the cold, 13 PGn presented a night of jokes, cameo performances and a mass of flashbacks to the 1980s. The play centres on the moving story of a teenage boy has he grows up around the barrage of market stall banter. Some of the langauge is not suitable for under 14s. Margret Thatcher turned up with arms made out of lobsters. You even get a chorus of True by Spandau Ballet and a flash of Bucks Fizz skirt. The set designed and built by TTA students received lots of good reviews from the audience. Were you in the audience? What did you enjoy about the production? Let us know. To book tickets ring 0208 665 8617.

Margaret Thatcher, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and a bunch of bananas

2010-01-12T08:34:00.002Z

The Common ground theatre season opens tonight with a riotous play about the pop, politics and the passions of the 1980s. MARKET BOY by David Eldridge is a rude and funny play with a soundtrack of Dexys, Frankie and the boys from Spandau Ballet all feature in a colourful and emotional play. The show is on at 7.00 pm. Tickets are still available from the box office on 0208 665 5242

Stay warm. Book tickets for common ground theatre season

2010-01-06T20:26:00.003Z

The annual season of theatre productions, common ground opens next week and promises to be three weeks of powerful, challenging and entertaining theatre. This year the school has achieved something of a coup with three very contemporary productions; some of which have never been granted permission to be performed in schools before. The season is supported by the very talented year 13 Technical Theatre Art Students.

Market Boy by David Eldridge is a riotous comedy that explodes the Thatcher Years. Expect plenty of strong language and 80s music and fashion..January 12 and 25th at 7pm and January the 18th at 4.30. Directed by Phil Gunderson

How to disappear completely and never be found by Fin Kennedy is a highly contemporary and fast moving play about loss, survival and relationships. January 13th and 26th at 7.00 pm and the 19th at 4.30. Directed by Susanna Gould

Days of Significance by Roy Williams is a hard hitting play set on the streets and in the nightclubs of England and war torn Iraq. Not suitable for under 14s. January 14th and 27th at 7.00 pm and the 20th at 4.30. Directed by Simon Stephens.

common ground also includes Faith a whole year group physical theatre exploration of the religions of the world. In a show that includes music from the yeah, yeahs, yeahs, LCD Soundsystem, Beethoven and Muse we follow the search for God, meaning and belief. Faith is on January 21st and 28th at 7.00 pm and January 28th at 4.30. Faith has been created by the students and Ben Redfern, Sarah Gorman, Sarah Niven, Phil Gunderson and Stuart Worden.

All tickets for all shows are £4. Brit school shows often sell out so book now to avoid disappointment. RING 0208 665 5242 to reserve or come to the box office to pay.

Come find some common ground.....

12ZMA Christmas Market 09

2009-12-18T12:07:00.005Z

Thank you to everyone who supported 12ZMA by buying our handmade Christmas gifts and cakes. It was a huge success and we raised £190 for Children with Leukaemia!

New Film and Digital Arts Facilities

2009-11-16T13:40:00.005Z

The Film and Digital Arts (FDA) department has finally taken possession of its new facilities in the heart of the BRIT school reception area. The new resource has seven high end video editing work stations, allowing our year 14 students to create content for all departments within the school whilst developing their understanding of the film industry. These computers allow for Full HD output, extending the possibilities of what our students can achieve.

Although the facility is primarily available to year 14 students, Ken McGill (the director of the department) is keen to collaborate with students of all levels from a variety of departments. FDA has worked across all school departments to raise awareness of how moving image can be incorporated into areas such as performance or art. Ken is also going to offer masterclasses to all students in the new lecture theatre.

To view some of the work that the FDA department has worked on please visit their High Definition Vimeo Site or the FDA website. Here you will find a wide variety of videos from students past and present.

If you are interested in finding out more about the department or discuss possible collaborations then please email Ken McGill or simply drop in to the department to the right of the main reception.

Rikki assists on Annie Get Your Gun

2009-11-07T08:19:00.004Z

Following his success as assistant director of GHOSTS in the summer former student Rikki Henry is currently the assistant to the director on the musical ANNIE GET YOUR GUN at the Young Vic Theatre. Starring Jane Horrocks, the show has received great reviews and has been on a number of critics must see lists. Rikki has also written articles for the Education pack that goes with the production. For more details go to www.youngvic.org. Rikki was a theatre student at the school from 2002 to 2006.

Radio Team join the BBC for 2012 debate

2009-11-01T12:16:00.003Z

The school BDC radio team join forces with the BBC this week for an on line series of programmes about the 2012 Olympic games. Joined by gold medalist Kelly Holmes programmes run over the week-end with our very own broadcaster Mr Preston joining the student team for a broadcast at 18.00 on Sunday night. Listeners will be treated to a series of interviews and documentaries about the history of the games, the legacy of 2012, how it will affect businesses and how young people are being involved in the Games. You can listen too by logging on to the BBC local radio London site

Wai Yin designs for Yellow Earth

2009-10-30T08:20:00.004Z

Former Technical Theatre Arts student Wai Yin Kwok has designed the set and costume for the latest production for Yellow Earth theatre company. Wai Yin enjoyed design as part of her course in Technical Theatre Arts and recently returned to school to take part in careers day at the school. The two shows that she has recently worked on are part of a touring double bill called BOOM and WAVE. The shows are touring to Newcastle, Manchester and Cantebury before a run of dates at the Riverside theatre in London. For more details click here.

Physical Phil triumphs in Brighton

2009-10-30T08:08:00.003Z

Last week theatre teacher Phil Gunderson took his one man show to the Nightingale Theatre in Brighton. THE BRIDGE is a poetic play about the life of commuters on the Brighton to London trains. With a host of characters, imaginative projections and vivid story telling THE BRIDGE has been developed with the theatre over the past 18 months including a scratch performance in 2008. Phil's work joins a growing tradition of Brit school teachers continuing to develop their craft in a professional context.

THE BRIDGE was operated by TTA student Henry Gillett and contained audio cameos from Pete Olsen, Andrew Midgley and Devon Cooper. Were you in the audience of THE BRIDGE? Post your comments here.

Dance students visit Poland for Commenius project

2009-10-12T11:36:00.006+01:00

Today six students and two members of staff have flown to Poland to be part of the Commenius project. over the past year we have visited Germany and Poland and we have hosted visits here at the school. The dance students that are visiting Poland will be giving a presentation based on Sub Human; their challenging piece of physical theatre that was performed in the summer term. Subhuman, which followed research at the Imperial War Museum explores the complex and demanding history of the Holocaust. The students will visit Auschwitz as part of the project.

Think George at Neighbourhood Watch

2009-10-12T11:29:00.005+01:00

Every year we are asked to support Croydon's Neighbourhood watch campaign and their conference. This year the event took place at the Clocktower and there were several presentations about current crime issues and crime prevention. The school was asked to create a new piece about scam mail. The students were invited by the organisation Croydon Eye to research the think Jessica campaign that explores scam mail. The six students created a new piece of theatre in education that looked at how criminals tend to exploit the vulnerable with a bombardment on scam, letters asking for money or donations. They called the play Think George in order to link with the Think Jessica campaign. Gerry Isles, who is the organiser of the event, praised the students for their performance sand their commitment to exploring a very important issue. For more information on the campaign visit www.thinkjessica.com

Sex, drugs, rock n chips

2009-10-07T18:03:00.003+01:00

Two former theatre students will be appearing in the new BBC offshoot of Only Fools and Horses. The one off 90 minute drama will be screened in the new year. Ashley Gerlach graduated in 2006 and Lewis Osborne left in 2009. Sex, Drugs, Rock n' Chips takes Del Boy, Denzil (Ashley) Trigger (Lewis) and Boycie back to their teenage years in the 1960s. On set photos of Ashley and Lewis were featured in a special feature in The Sun today.

NSPCC Conference on anti-bullying

2009-10-07T17:53:00.003+01:00

This year the Brit school was asked to create a new piece of theatre for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. In the summer a group of theatre students toured their play and ran workshops on sexual bullying to local secondary schools. The NSPCCs' campaign focuses on the misery caused by misogyny and homophobia in schools and our students took that focus to produce a play that was based on real stories and opinions. On Friday 2nd October the play opened the NSPCCs National conference on anti-bullying. The NSPCC have asked the school to develop the project to have a national impact.

Come join the Parade in Oklahoma!

2009-10-04T16:04:00.006+01:00

The Musical Theatre Department (Year 13 students) are about to commence rehearsals on two ground breaking pieces of Musical Theatre. Opening the season in 2010 will be Rogers and Hammerstein's 'Oklahoma' followed by Jason Robert Browns 'Parade'.

Oklahoma is the sparkling story of Curly the Cowboy and his fight for the affections of Laurey and is known and loved the world over. It was also Rodgers & Hammerstein's first show together, and is hailed as one of the most significant pieces of Musical theatre, responsible for moving back the boundaries of what was considered possible in a musical comedy. The Dream Ballet, originally choreographed by Agnes de Mille, was a giant leap for dance in musical theatre, and has a positive wealth of classic songs, including "Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin' ", "The Surrey With The Fringe On Top", "I Cain't Say No", "People Will Say We're In Love" and "Oklahoma".

'Parade' is the tragic, true story of the trial and lynching of a man wrongly accused of murder and is brought to emotional and theatrical life by acclaimed playwright Alfred Uhry (“Driving Miss Daisy”) and Jason Robert Brown, one of Broadway’s most promising young composers (“Songs For A New World”). In 1913, Leo Frank, a Brooklyn-born Jew living in Georgia, is put on trial for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan, a factory worker under his employ. Already guilty in the eyes of everyone around him, a sensationalist publisher and a janitor’s false testimony seal Leo’s fate. His only defenders are a governor with a conscience, and, eventually, his assimilated Southern wife who finds the strength and love to become his greatest champion. Daring, innovative and bold, “Parade” won well-earned Tony® Awards for Best Book and Best Score in 2000. Its subject matter offers a moral lesson about the dangers of prejudice and ignorance that should not be forgotten. 'Parade' was most recently re-written and reconceived for a production at the Donmar Warehouse featuring ex BRIT School Musical Theatre student, Stuart Matthew Price, in the role of 'The young soldier/Frankie'.

Acting Director of Musical Theatre Kerry McGrandles said the following about the recent choices, 'This year we wanted to explore epic Musical Theatre that had a strong Historical background and allowed our students to explore rich themes and ideas as well as developing good technical skills. Both pieces are very challenging in very different ways and it should provide excellent learning opportunities for our students'.

Both shows will feature all 60 year 13 Musical Theatre students as well as technical support from the year 13 Technical Theatre students.

Please check back for updates and some very exciting news.

Conference in Germany

2009-09-23T09:02:00.004+01:00

As part of our continued work with the Commenius project in Europe, a group of students and staff are spending this week in Germany with students from all over Europe. As well as attending workshops, seminars and cultural visits the students will be performing their play MENU that they created as part of the community theatre project that was originally performed at Wimbledon Studio and work shopped at Glebe school for children with special needs.

How Do You Do?

2009-09-04T12:40:00.003+01:00

Year 12 Visual Arts and Design students worked extremely hard this week to produce a huge number of interactive and hand crafted objects and events based on the theme of 'How Do You Do?'. The students wanted to create an opportunity for students from other strands to introduce themselves to each other and make friends. Guests were greeted with the Info Desk and given a programme of the activities taking place. Guests could have their tarot cards read by Aoife, receive a gift and a hug from Jamsine and go on a speed date with Ruby and Matt. All activities were designed to encourage students to interact and learn about each other. The event was a huge success and we would like to thank everyone for coming.

New building opens

2009-09-02T10:11:00.004+01:00

The BRIT school has a brand new facility open for business on the first day of term September 2009. It houses specialist facilities for Dance, Music, Media, Technical Theatre and a 'state of the art' physical training Gym. Further support rooms and offices surround the key facilities.

GCSE results. "Outstanding"

2009-08-27T11:50:00.000+01:00

The BRIT School’s exam results at KS4 are again outstanding. At KS4 99% of students achieved 5 A* - C grades in their GCSEs and equivalent qualifications. 100% of students achieved 5 A* - Gs. 64% achieved 5+A*-C’s including English and maths. The average point score is 599 up from 577 in 2008.

All students took the BTEC First Diploma (equalling 4 GCSEs at A*-C) in their chosen arts area and 100% successfully completed the course. 97% achieved a Merit or Distinction, with 80% as Distinctions including 61% D*.

94% achieved a BTEC First Certificate in Science (equivalent to 2 A* - Cs at GCSE). 80% of students achieved a Distinction with 61% D* (in 2008 25% achieved Distinctions with 22% D*).

87% of students achieved A* - C in English, 68% in mathematics.

At KS4 Emily Brock, Ben Potter, Natasha Turner-Wray and Myles Hart achieved 14.5 A* - C grades at GCSE or equivalent. Emily achieved a point score of 805 with 10.5 A*/A or equivalent.

Examination results 2009

2009-08-20T17:41:00.000+01:00

The Brit School’s exam results at Post 16 are again outstanding, with students achieving excellent results. All students study for the BTEC National Diploma, which is equivalent to 3 A-levels. 98% of all grades were at Merit or Distinction with 85% at Distinction.

A significant number of students also take A levels alongside their vocational qualifications. 86% of students achieved at grade A – C in their A2 qualifications, with all students achieving a pass.

The average UCAS point score at Post 16 is 410 which is up from last year.

There are a number of individual students who have achieved at the highest level in all their qualifications. Of particular note is Rhiannon Marley who achieved 3 Distinctions in her Music BTEC National Diploma, as well as a grade A in A-level English Literature for which she received the maximum possible number of marks. In addition Harriet Charters achieved 3 Distinctions in her Dance BTEC National Diploma as well as a grade A in Dance A-level and B in French.

" As you were" triumphs in Edinburgh

2009-08-19T06:19:00.003+01:00

The Year 14 Bridge theatre company show, AS YOU WERE, has received great critical success in Edinburgh this summer. This raw and passionate piece of verbatim theatre which takes the views of soldiers ad those affected by war as its material opened at Wimbledon studio in July and is now in its third week at the international festival.

"This production is a roaring success"

"The play is essential in understanding the soldiers that return home from Afghanistan"

"This is a great theatrical success for young talent with great potential" BROADWAY BABY

"The loneliness of a soldiers widow is brilliantly conveyed"

"The versatility of the six young performers is promising" THREE WEEKS

"A fun, foot tapping and yet still thought provoking experience"

"It's not often you get to see such physical performers and imaginative direction" THE SCOTSMAN

If you are in Edinburgh this summer you can see the show at the Sweet Market venue.

Fat Content bring the Gannet to the Pleasance

2009-07-30T08:08:00.006+01:00

Fat Content are an exciting and innovative theatre company that formed at the Brit School in 2007 and have since toured England and now bring their new show to the Edinburgh festival this summer. The Gannet press release reads:

"Siblings flee from a city destroyed by plague. They venture into a wild forest and, manoeuvred by a ravenous eye, embark upon a surreal odyssey. Can they escape taboo breaking animals and sugar coated enemies as strange temptations strain their unusual bond?"

The show has been work shopped with current students in the vaults of the Southwark Playhouse. It was one of only four chosen to show case the Pleasance work at this years Latitude Festival. The show runs from August 5th to the 31st. You can get tickets from the Pleasance website and you can watch the trailer for the Gannet at fat contents own website. Please support this adventurous young company.

Rikki works on GHOSTS

2009-07-30T07:55:00.003+01:00

The career of theatre graduate Rikki Henry continues to flourish as he assists with the direction of Henrik Ibsen's GHOSTS at the Arcola Theatre in the East end. In a new version by Rebecca Lenkiewicz Ghosts is a haunting story of family secrets and betrayal. You can contact the Arcola at www.arcolatheatre.com. It runs until August 22nd.

After leaving the Brit school Rikki went on to university and has already directed at the Young Vic under their new directors scheme. Whilst at school Rikki was in many productions including Billie and Ghetto. In his biography for the production he talks about how the strawberry picking festival had an impact on his directing.

As you were in Edinburgh

2009-07-30T07:45:00.003+01:00

The year 14 Bridge company open their Edinburgh show AS YOU WERE on Friday August 7th. This hard hitting and very moving play that takes the stories and memories of soldiers who have returned from war will be showing at 1.00 p.m everyday until August 23rd at the Sweet Grassmarket venue. The show has been created by the students after interviewing soldiers who have returned from a variety of conflicts including Afghanistan, Vietnam and the Second World war. It is directed by Tangled Feet's Nathan Curry. After you've seen it Edinburgh blog your comments here. You can order your tickets through the Fringe website, edfringe.com.

Elarica opens Harry Potter VI

2009-07-20T16:39:00.003+01:00

Over the years many Brit school students have turned up in Hogwarts, playing quidditch, or larking about on Platform 9 and 3/4. In the latest Harry Potter VI and the Half Blood Prince former student Elarica Gallagher is in an early scene with Daniel Radcliffe. Elarica has spent her time acting and modelling since the leaving the school. You can also see her in the Channel 4 film Fallout.

One of the Sex Pistols helps bring a succesful BRIT FM to a close

2009-07-20T16:26:00.004+01:00

On Friday the 17th July BRIT FM closed down its live transmission with a series of brilliant shows including a rare interview with the original Sex Pistol bass player and song writer Glenn Matlock. Matlock spoke on the Punk show to a life long fan Mr Dean Peckett. It was another great example of exciting broadcasting from BRIT FM. What have been your highlights of BRIT FM this year? The Little Big Menus from St.Marys? The wit of the Word for Word team? The hilarious and moving stories of the Pineapple Club? The up to the minute News team? Thank-you to all the listeners and all those who have broadcasted. BRIT FM 87.7. Trust.

Felting Making Workshop in Visual Arts & Design

2009-07-20T14:29:00.003+01:00

Last week students from the Visual Arts and Design department were visited by Isabel Norwood who came to give a felt making workshop. Izzy showed us examples of her work and we made samples of some of the technques. Over the week, students began to design and produce a bag. There was a variety of different purposes and techniques used and the students were very impressed with what they learnt and in turn produced. Check out the pictures here.

Here are some of the students comments:
"I really enjoyed making the bag - something i'd consider doing as a career."
"Genuinely i think it was a very useful and fun workshop."
"I enjoyed being able to create our own designs quite freely."
"I had a great time learning something new so thank you Izzy!"

St. Marks Academy plays triumph at Strawberry Picking

2009-07-17T16:26:00.002+01:00

Plays written by students at St.Marks academy were really well received by audiences at the Strawberry Picking festival at the Warehouse theatre this week.

The plays were

BIN FILLING by Florence Stanton
NO SMOKING by Tyler South
CHECKERBOARD by Gabi Thomas
PURSUIT OF DREAMS by Anneka Williams

If you saw these plays or were involved in the productions please post a comment here as the writers would love to know your opinions.

This project was part of the leading edge work of the school.

Former students perform at Latitude

2009-07-16T08:33:00.002+01:00

If you are going to Latitude festival this week end you can catch a fair bit of Brit school action. Former student Laura Dockerill follows the launch of her new book UGLY SHY GIRL at the QEH with a headline spot in the poetry tent. The theatre company FAT CONTENT will be performing their new piece THE GANNET in the theatre tent. And you can also see the work of TANGLED FEET which features former students and the award winning director Nathan Curry who is currently working with our year 14 Bridge course.

FESTIVA at the Ashcroft Theatre Croydon

2009-07-16T08:24:00.003+01:00

There are still a few tickets left for the Brits schools music and musical theatre extravaganza at the Ashcroft Theatre, Fairfields, Croydon. The show is called Festiva and is on tonight (July 16th) at 7.30. The evening is a celebration of music and performance with a wide range of songs and pieces that includes rock, pop and musical numbers. There is also dance pieces and a powerful piece of theatre taken from Mark Ravenhills SHOOT GET TREASURE REPEAT. All proceeds go to Croydon Youth Charities. You can ring the Brit school box office on 0208 665 5242 until 2.00 p.m or the Fairfield on 0208 688 9291.

News about 'Our News'

2009-07-15T11:35:00.005+01:00

With the busiest part of 2009 still left i.e. starting a new school year in September, the statistics below show just how successful our news service has become. We started late (November) in 2006 but after that the site got busy. Our goal is that on January 1st 2010 we will see the figures for 2008 beaten again.Our calendar is as full as ever and there will be lots to report on in the next half of the year.

Strawberry Picking at the Warehouse

2009-07-10T13:31:00.003+01:00

Strawberry Picking is a three day festival of new plays written by theatre students and performed by theatre students at the Warehouse Theatre Croydon. It runs from Tuesday 14th July until Thursday the 16th. The Warehouse is open from 1 until 4 on the Tuesday and from 1 until 8 on Wednesday to Thursday. There will be 13 plays performed during the festival as well as play readings from students of one of our 'Leading Edge' partner schools ST MARKS ACADEMY. The plays looks at many issues ranging from peer pressure to the notion of beauty and from the happiness of teenagers to a modern version of Romeo and Juliet. Ring 0208 665 5242 for tickets or you can usually buy tickets on the door. The Warehouse theatre is 5 minutes walk from East Croydon station.

Good Vibrations for Birmingham

2009-07-07T15:24:00.006+01:00

As part of the Music for Youth’s summer festival in Birmingham, students from the BRIT school will be performing “One Vision/New Version” in Centenary Square this Thursday 9th July 2009. The show is a celebration of how music can be re-interpreted and re-discovered by new audiences. The school will bring a selection of its Music and Musical Theatre students (a cast of over 60!) to perform a vibrant and innovative concert based on some of the country’s best known pop songs of the last 18 years. Typically imaginative, Music students have re-arranged all the songs with their own new interpretations of them. They will perform their “new” version alongside the original. The show will feature a huge ensemble finale with a specially arranged version of the Beach Boys’ classic, “Good Vibrations” featuring young people from across the West Midlands who are also performing in the gig. The BRIT School is coming to Birmingham because it is proud to be associated with a brand new academy with a planned opening in the city’s Eastside in 2011. The new academy will provide state of the art education with a specialist focus on digital media, the creative and performing arts. The academy will be modelled on many aspects of the BRIT School. This concert aims to show how the partnership between the two schools will continue to flourish in the future, proving that the BRIT School vision can be re-worked, giving the West Midlands its very own new version of something very special!

Subhuman dance show

2009-07-07T14:47:00.005+01:00

The year 12 dance students will be presenting a powerful new physical theatre piece at school next week. The show is called subhuman and takes an unflinching and emotional look at the second world war. The show is on Thursday 16th of July at 4.30 and 7.00 p.m in studio 506 and you can buy tickets on 0208 665 5242.

The Inbetweeners and Torchwood

2009-07-07T14:44:00.003+01:00

Former dance and theatre student Blake Harrison is one of the main characters in the teenage comedy series The Inbetweeners which is now showing on Channel 4 on Tuesday nights and former theatre student Cush Jumbo appears as a lead character in the week long series of Torchwood on BBC 1.

Musical Theatre in the Community

2009-07-02T14:15:00.003+01:00

The Musical theatre Department have been tackling a wide range of projects this term and have continued with their term 5 community focus. Students in Year 12 have been out and about in the community sharing their creativity and helping bring awareness to important issues as well as supporting different groups within the community. One group of students recently visited The Elms Residential Care Home in Dulwich to create a piece of Verbatim theatre. The resident's enjoyed spending time with the students and sharing lots of their memories with them. Project Leader Katy Sechiari said, "It's such a valuable and humbling experience for the students. They put such care in to the work they create and as the project develops they grow very protective over how they portray the memories of the residents". The Musical theatre Department has spent the last 3 years working with The Elms Residential care home and hope to continue and develop the work they do there.

Taking Shakespeare to Stratford

2009-07-01T14:39:00.006+01:00

This week end the year 12 theatre students take four Shakespeare plays to Stratford Upon Avon. The performances take place in the RSC garden theatre, The Dell.The school returns to the Dell after performances in 2006 and 2007. This time they bring their most ambitious Shakespeare project to date; a company of 70 young actors performing four plays over two days. Each imaginatively interpreted play has been abridged to run at approximately 60 minutes.

The performance schedule is:

Saturday 4th 2.30pm 'Pericles'. 4.30pm 'The Winter's Tale'
Sunday 5th 2.30pm 'Love's Labour's Lost'. 4.30pm 'The Tempest'

Tickets are free. If you want to see Shakespeare performed with imagination and panache in the open air then this is a great opportunity for you.

Powerful play about war coming to Wimbledon Studio

2009-07-01T10:29:00.008+01:00

The year 14 Bridge Theatre company brings its new play to Wimbledon Studio next week. AS YOU WERE is a verbatim piece of theatre following a series of workshops and interviews that the students actors have taken with soldiers who have returned from war. They have met with Chelsea pensioners and soldiers from recent conflicts in the middle east. The play brings their stories and memories to life. It is directed by the award winning Nathan Curry and is playing for three weeks at the Edinburgh Festival in August.

It plays at 7.30 on July the 7th and 10th at the Wimbledon Studio.
Ring Brit school box office on 0208 665 5242 for tickets
Map to Theatre

Dancer Ashley wins the Maureen Milgram Award

2009-07-01T10:04:00.007+01:00

This years winner of the Maureen Milgram award is Ashley Glazebrook. Ashley was nominated for this positive attitude, his inspiring choreography and his willingness to expand his dance knowledge and range of techniques. Ashley has also worked with Valence school for children with disabilities, run workshops for local boys from our neighbouring primary schools and set up his own dance company out of school. He was asked to be one of the assistant choreographers on The Circus of Disbelief.
The other nominees this year were
Ryan McClaron from BDC
Fred Harper from Music
Matthew parsons from Musical Theatre
Metalmouth from Theatre (Alex Critoph, Joel McCormack, Taoi Rene Lawson)
Alex Peters and Luke Lester from TTA
Bradley Gregory from VAD

Lady: Watch the Video

2009-07-01T09:55:00.002+01:00

LADY from BRIT SCHOOL - FILM & DIGITAL ART on Vimeo.

Festiva. A Brit School Spectacular Event,

2009-06-30T11:36:00.002+01:00

Lady

2009-06-30T09:00:00.005+01:00

A stunning collaboration of Technical Theatre Arts, Dance and Film & Digital Arts produced this visually splendid re-imagining of Shakespeare's MacBeth.

LADY from BRIT SCHOOL - FILM & DIGITAL ART on Vimeo.

Collaborative project with St. Christopher's Hospice

2009-06-29T12:48:00.005+01:00

This project being carried out throughout June 2009, is a BRIT School Visual Arts and Design, Croydon and St. Christoper's Hospice, Sydenham, Community collaboration.We will be working on a collaborative project with a group of patients and their Community Artist, a staff member of the St. Christopher’s Hospice Arts Team. Each Wednesday for the first 4 weeks of the project we will be producing work in workshops at St Christopher’s then we will spend the remainder of the week in school working on the material created and gathered to produce a final outcome of an animation video and presentation that we will share in week 5 (Wednesday 1st July). We will be exploring the theme ‘Teenagers in London: Yesterday and Today’. Focusing on:- Dialogue as art-making- Illustrating narratives- Retelling stories/memories through animation- Patients as material source, students as artistic developers, collaboration as production technique.

Visit our blog and FlickR page for more details and information.

'Leading Edge' projects

2009-06-25T10:36:00.004+01:00

Children from St Mary's Junior school are in each Tuesday this term working in the radio studio to produce their "Little Big Menu" show for BRIT FM. This is an ongoing project between St Mary's and the BRIT school to encourage an interest in media and radio production from an early age. Part of our Leading Edge projects and work.
Go to the 'Leading Edge' website

BRITKIDS Summer Art School

2009-06-24T11:08:00.001+01:00

27th - 31st July for ages 10-12 and 13-15. There are two courses to choose from one for each age category and the courses take place at the South Norwood CALAT Centre. To see examples of previous work and to download an application form click here

A few tickets left for west end show case

2009-06-12T14:07:00.004+01:00

On Wednesday 17th June the year 13 theatre students will be delivering auditions speeches at the Trafalgar Studios theatre in the West End for an audience of industry contacts, agents and theatre directors. The show starts at 1.30 and lasts an hour. There are a few tickets available to friends and the public. These can be ordered and paid for at the Brit school box office. Phone 0208 665 5242. They costs £8. It will be well worth it as you get see some of the very talented actors in the school.

The Circus of Disbelief. Get tickets for the London show

2009-06-12T14:00:00.006+01:00

The schools annual summer school comes to the Bloomsbury Theatre on Tuesday 30th June. The Circus of Disbelief is a brand new show created at the school with over 150 students form across the school. All of the strands are involved in this very special show suitable for all ages. It tells the story of a remarkable circus made up of special acts from all over the world; dancers, skippers, skateboarders, tumblers and amazing musicians. The show contains original films and animation too. Tickets are only £6. Ring the box office now on 0208 665 5242 to order your tickets

World Maths day. The Video

2009-06-09T13:55:00.002+01:00

World Maths Day at the BRIT School from BRIT SCHOOL - FILM & DIGITAL ART on Vimeo.

Visual Arts and Design: Final Shop show 14th May 2009

2009-05-16T08:46:00.002+01:00

Images from Final Shop Show on our Flickr gallery

Hello! Our final show had over 350 people exploring our Shop, not only family and friends but, the less usual art audience of passers by out shopping in the Whitgift, or going to catch a tram or bus, or those on a lunch break from work. This real engagement with the community was fantastic for our students where the artist in a traditional gallery situation, is absent upon the audience's viewing.... To read more see our Shop blog

Yr11 Visual Art and Design BTEC and GCSE Show

2009-05-08T17:27:00.007+01:00

On Tuesday the 12th of May up in the Art Department we are holding our year 11 show.
Come along and celebrate with us the great work they have produced over their respective courses during their 2 years here.
There is a huge range of work this year, ranging from beautiful paintings to origami based installations via post apocalyptic dioramas and knitted textiles.
Show opens at 5 and runs until 8pm, refreshments will be available,
See you there!

Final Show: Shop installation art project 14th May 2-7pm

2009-05-07T13:06:00.003+01:00

You are invited by Year 12 Visual Arts & Design BTEC to come to their end of Shop Project event to experience their work and consume tea and cake on the 14th May, 2 – 7pm

Unit 50-51, Whitgift Centre, Croydon, CRO 1UQ

Come and see innovative art installations that range from a homage to Croydon Bomb shelters during the 2nd World War to a reflection of the current financial climate or an insight to the intimate moments of changing in a public changing room. Take away a part of their low tech Zine which has evolved alongside the installations.

About the Shop Project: Year 12 Brit Visual Arts & Design students have been based at the Whitgift Centre in an empty shop unit for the last term as an alternative classroom in a form of an artist residency. The students have been required to create a series of site-responsive installations, with an emphasis on being highly resourceful in using low tech media. In order to create these artworks students have explored in a multi-sensory approach not only the aesthetic traces of the occupancy of the shop and wider Croydon but also the cultural, social, political, and historical connections to the site.

For the blog about the project with staff and student contributors see here

Hope to see you there!
Visual Arts & Design Team

Year 13 Final Show, Whitgift Centre, Croydon 23/24/27 April

2009-04-20T17:53:00.004+01:00

Please come and join us in celebrating the achievements of our Year 13 BTEC National Diploma Art and Design students for the Private View this Thursday, 5-9pm or 10-4pm Friday 24th and Monday 27th, in the Whitgift Centre, near the middle of it, opposite Pumpkin Patch, CR0 1LP.

The show, which turns an empty shop into a temporary white cubed gallery space, promises to be an array of work across the breadth of Visual Arts and Design including graphics, illustration, painting, sculpture, textiles and video. Students have responded to the theme Presence of Absence in creating their final pieces.

Hope to see you there. Entry £1 on the Private view.

[Please note this is different to the Year 12 BRIT Visual Arts Shop project currently in the old Legends site]

Visual Arts and Design department

BDC Students get Inspired!

2009-04-06T11:19:00.004+01:00

It may be the holidays but there is no rest for a select few BDC students this week. Five Year 13 students have been selected to take part in Channel 4's new 4Talent scheme 'Inspiration Week'. As part of Channel 4's commitment to offer opportunities in the media industry, Inspiration Week will see students from a range of schools take part in interactive sessions, workshops and master classes. Sessions will be hosted by key media professionals including Jon Snow and Myleene Klass and industry partners including BAFTA, The Guardian, Media Box and Pinewood Studios.
The students were selected to take part following their attendance at the Inspiration Week Open Day in March and the completion of an online application form. Participation in the scheme continues The Brit School Careers Department's link with 4Talent.

Shop installation art project: Two month residency

2009-03-27T11:27:00.007Z

The Visual Arts and Design department begin their two month site-responsive art residency on Monday 30th March until May 14th in a derelict shop in the Whitgift Centre, Croydon. The site was Legends, a surf shop, Unit 50-51, Whitgift Centre, CR0 1UQ.

29 Year 12 BTEC National Diploma Art and Design students will create evolving low-tech drawing, projection and typographic installations on the shop floors, behind the scenes and in the windows, using the space as a working studio engaging with passers by. Come and see and participate in some of our activities or chat to us about what we're doing:)

See here for the blog about this, including times we are on site, and the staff and students recording the processes along the way.

The project is made possible thanks to our partnership with Whitgift Centre, Croydon.

The school takes our celebrations to Poland

2009-03-20T09:38:00.002Z

Over the next three years the Brit school is working with the European Cormenius project. We will be working with students and artists in Germany, Belgium and Poland. The school will be hosting a series of projects based on the ideas of feast days and celebrations. In this video Brit school students take us through the year of special days and how they celebrate them. This week four students and two members of staff from the Brit school are visiting Poland as part of the project. They have been visiting galleries, Universities and today are visiting Auschwitz. In April the students from Poland will be visiting us.

What a start...

2009-03-18T16:03:00.003Z

Well, 3 days into a new term and its certainly all go! Some of the Dance students alongside some Musical Theatre Students are in rehearsal for 'Get Energy!' an event at The Business Design Centre, Islington on Monday 23rd March. Students are preparing for ISTD Vocational Modern Examinations on the 28th March and the AS and A level practical examinations are not far over the horizon.
Rehearsals are well under way for the year 12 Technical Theatre Show 'Lady' and Dance showcase 'Kinetic Concepts' which is performing at The Shaw Theatre, Euston, London. Both these shows perform in April so keep your eyes peeled for more information coming soon or contact the Box Office on 02086655242.
To top this busy start to term 4, Donna Maria has been holding exciting auditions today for this years Spectacluar, Harrods Christmas Parade!

The Real Britannia High. BBC Radio 1

2009-03-05T09:06:00.002Z

BBC visits the BRIT School