The Arts

Art

AGATHA R, YEAR 6

FLORENCE F, YEAR 8

CAPI, YEAR 5 SCHOLAR – ELIZA

LARA, YEAR 6

SCHOLAR – ELIZA

GENEVIEVE, YEAR 5

HERBIE, YEAR 6

HONOR F, YEAR 8 GEORGINA, YEAR 8

LUX, YEAR 6

BREEZY, YEAR 8

YEAR 8 ADDING INK TO THEIR CONCENTINA SKETCHBOOKS

HONOR F, YEAR 8 HECTOR H, YEAR 7

SCHOLAR – OLLIE

PALOMA AND MARTHA, YEAR 6 SOPHIE R, YEAR 5

SCHOLAR – SOPHIE T SCHOLAR – OLLIE

QUITTERIE, YEAR 8

MIYA, YEAR 6

POPPY B, YEAR 8 SOFIA, YEAR 6

SCHOLAR – SOPHIE T SCHOLAR – RED GI.

WILBUR, YEAR 7 SCHOLAR – ROSIE H

ZOE, YEAR 7 EMILIE, YEAR 6

SCHOLAR – ROSIE H

CERAMICS, YEAR 5

Ceramics

The past year has provided many opportunities for children to create artwork in Ceramics, teaching under the temporary banner of “3D Art”.

The Year 3 children explored the positive, vibrant work of the artist Morag Myerscough, creating 3D sculptures using neon paper, and home learning featured pupils experimenting with homemade clay, tin foil sculptures and much more!

Year 4 studied the Ndebele people and the secret messages within the decorative patterns that adorn their homes. They created secret messages of their own to accompany their miniature 3D houses made from card, and decorated them with collage techniques.

Children in Year 5 have explored symmetry in art, looking at Islamic, Christian and Buddhist artwork as inspiration for their own designs. The children explored a range of Computer Aided Design technology, for example using 2D designs to create laser cut stained glass windows, or experimenting with software to create mandalas.

Whether at home or at School, pupils have engaged with a huge range of activities, and have adapted to working in new ways both inside and outside of the classroom.

In the final term, all pupils engaging in the “3D Art Carousel” have had the opportunity to work with clay, studying the work of polka dot enthusiast and world renowned artist Yayoi Kusama. Pupils have worked hard to sculpt pumpkins, decorating them with garish colours and dots in Kusama’s signature design.

The Summer Term has also seen the Art department diving in with ceramics, learning the ropes of how to work safely and effectively with clay to ensure the children continue to engage and work with this exciting medium.

The children rose to the challenge of 3D Art, either in unusual classrooms, or at home. The fun, creative and exciting responses to lessons really brightened my day.

I have enjoyed rejuvenating the Ceramics Department at Beaudesert since joining in 2017. Ceramics is a fine craft that has been historically important to Great Britain for hundreds of years and I hope that Beaudesertians continue enjoy its unique benefits.

BJ

3D HOUSES, YEAR 4

CAD TETRAHEDRONS, YEAR 5

PUMPKIN SCULPTURES, YEAR 5 CLAY TILES, YEAR 4

Music

Last year, in my article for the school magazine, I wrote about community being at the heart of music and finished by highlighting the creative thinking of musicians. It would be remiss of me to write about this last academic year without mentioning both of these essential skills again… My goodness we have had to rely upon both community and creativity this year. In addition, I have been continually amazed by the resilience of the children at Beaudesert especially in light of the many disappointing announcements regarding our performance calendar. Still, because of the circumstances, we have determinedly continued to share as much music as possible either with a reduced live audience or via a virtual platform.

Many children have taken ABRSM examinations this academic year. I am so impressed by the standard Beaudesert musicians have reached this year; their hard work and dedication is demonstrated by our fantastic set of results. Across the board, the exam results were 13% pass, 52% merit and 35% distinction.

Autumn Term

After the disruption to the music calendar, we were eager to provide the children at Beaudesert with an opportunity to experience live music as an audience hence, the Beaudesert Piano Quartet was formed. With our desire to share music with as many children as possible and with the restrictions of bubbles, this led to one solution…to perform our concert thrice on the same day. Although a small marathon, it was our pleasure to perform Mozart’s Piano Quartet in G minor, 3 short pieces composed by Mr Mander and a few seasonal numbers to the Beaudesert pupils and staff to provide an uplifting way to end the term.

Determined not to allow COVID restrictions to diminish spreading Christmas cheer, the Year 7 and 8 choir headed to Horsfall House in Nailsworth to sing carols to the residents. The end of the Autumn Term wouldn’t be complete without our Carol Service, and although in virtual form and with the unusual requirements of singing and playing at a distance, the quality of singing from our choirs and ensembles shone through. With the flexibility of filming performances in school, we used the opportunity to record performances of Christmas carols and songs by each of our instrumental ensembles. My thanks go to each of the instrumental teachers for directing and supporting the young musicians in these groups. A special mention to Honor for her beautiful solo of ‘Once in Royal’, which opened the Carol Service.

Spring Term

At the start of the Spring Term, we were delighted to receive the news that Henry M in Year 6 was awarded a Music Scholarship to The King’s School, Gloucester, and Caspar B in Year 8 had gained a Music Exhibition to Cheltenham College, a result of their hard work and dedication to music during their time at Beaudesert. Throughout the Spring Term we enjoyed many solo performances in pupil assemblies, including an impromptu performance of the ‘Star Wars’ theme by Mr Holmes on the piano. A stand out pupil assembly moment has to be the Year 5 and 6 choir’s performance of the viral TikTok song ‘Wellerman’. After creating our own acapella arrangement of the song, complete with a round, harmony and Cajon accompaniment, it was such a pleasure to share this with the Year 5 and 6 bubble. Very well done to the choir for this performance and many thanks to Miss Hughes for her expert leadership. Later in the term, the House Music competition saw a record number of entries, with 154 solos performed over two days! I thoroughly enjoyed adjudicating the beginner classes on the first day of the competition and I was so encouraged by both the standard of musicianship demonstrated by our younger musicians, and the way in which the children were so supportive of one another. For the second day of the competition, we welcomed

George Bevan, Director of Music at Monkton Combe as our guest adjudicator. George’s enthusiasm for music and music education is infectious and his insightful and considered observations were so helpful in supporting the development of our musicians. He continually reminded the children about the importance of listening; listening to the sound when playing instruments or singing, and the necessary skill of singing for all musicians. The competition was a very close contest and this year C House were the overall winners with 720 points.

Summer Term

With the promise of warmer weather and brighter days, I was hopeful that the Summer Term would provide more performance opportunities even if they were outside. In spite of a few moments of uncertainty, it has been wonderful to end the academic year by sharing live music with the Beaudesert community. Undoubtedly, the Summer Term included many musical highlights.

Together, Mrs Crosbee and I always enjoy creating and adapting works for the children at Beaudesert and our first production this term was the ‘Rocking Romans’ performed by Year 3. Having begun learning the songs in lockdown, I am sure that many parents were equally as familiar with the songs as the children were

by the time it came to the performance! All of Year 3 sang with much enthusiasm and joy, it was so encouraging to see all of the children supporting one another when singing out with confidence. Well done to Year 3 for setting such a high standard in our journey of bringing back live music to Beaudesert.

After learning a variety of traditional African songs in their class lessons, Year 4 were ready to share their music with family and friends in the Celebration of African Music concert. By combining the melody, harmony and rhythm on a range of instruments and with their voices, each of the Year 4 classes demonstrated excellent teamwork. The concert featured 4H’s performance of ‘Senua de Dende’, 4L’s performance of ‘Banuwa’, 4M’s performance of a traditional song from South Africa and 4SM concluded the concert by singing and playing ‘Kye Kye Kule’ from Ghana.

Ordinarily our Rock On Summer Concert would feature performances by all classes in Years 5 to 8. However, this year our scaled back version just featured Year 5. Because of their dedicated practice throughout the term, Year 5 took to the stage with confidence and an eagerness to share their music with the audience. Mr Jones, Mr Harris and I had great fun supporting and playing along with each of the class bands. This occasion seemed to be a real celebration of music and reminded each of us why we love live music. 5D opened the concert with ‘Waka Waka’ followed by 5G’s performance of ‘Best Day of My Life’. ‘Stand by Me’ was performed by 5G and 5S concluded the concert with ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’. The audience enjoyed their performances so much that every class performed each of their songs twice! Congratulations, Year 5.

From the Prep School to the Pre-prep, some of our youngest musicians were keen to share their achievements and progress in the annual Year 2 concert. As friends and family enjoyed afternoon tea, the Year 2 musicians took to the stage in the Marquee with gusto. From solo performances to a guitar ensemble and finally an amusing song ‘You Wouldn’t Have a Pig as a Pet’ by the Year 2 Choir, the audience left thoroughly entertained and proud of the children, marking this important pillar in the musical journey at Beaudesert.

The sheer determination and resilience of children at Beaudesert was further demonstrated when we had to adapt to sharing performances of the Summer Concert in virtual form. Thank you to all of the children involved for the support, and messages of “don’t worry Mrs Saunders!” I was so impressed by every band, instrumental ensemble and choir for their musicianship and professionalism when putting together our concert. I hope that many of you enjoyed the variety of music. Although listening from the comfort of your own home, I hope you sensed the buzz of our concerts at Beaudesert.

The Year 8 production has always been an important event when marking the last year of Prep School for our oldest children at Beaudesert. We were determined that

the current Year 8 would not miss out on this event which would usually begin in September, with performances at the end of the Autumn Term. After a jam-packed Summer Term, Mrs Crosbee and I set Year 8 a challenge of putting on a musical production in the equivalent time of 6 days of rehearsals. After intensive rehearsals and a few rollercoaster moments… Not only did they rise to the challenge, but far exceeded our expectations. Inspired by the play ‘The Ash Girl’, based upon the story of Cinderella, we adapted the work by adding in musical numbers to highlight and further illustrate key moments in the play. As the Ash Girl, Honor set the standard for music in the play with her beautiful singing of the opening number, ‘Clown’ by Emeli Sandé. The Year 8 production is often an opportunity for children to realise talents and challenge themselves by stepping out of their comfort zones. This year I was particularly impressed by the solo and smaller ensemble singing by so many of the boys. The Seven Deadly Sins gave an energetic and characterful performance of ‘Dark Necessities’ by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and Benedict and Milo gave an atmospheric performance of ‘Mad World’ surrounded by eerily moving doors. Keen to end the first act on a high and leaving the audience wanting more, I felt that the lyrics and melodic riffs of ‘Ocean of Night’ by The Editors would be perfect for setting up the scene at the ball. Complete with a glitter ball and the support of the chorus, as the Man in the Mirror, Rudy led the song with assurance and creative flair. Very well done Rudy, for leading such a memorable performance of this song. Having set the tone for Act 2, Rufus R continued to build on this with his solo performance of ‘Daydreaming’ by Radiohead. The whole ensemble brought the show to a rousing close when singing ‘Demons’ by Imagine Dragons and after Tuesday evening, I was so pleased that we had the pleasure of performing the whole show again the following evening. A heartfelt thank you to all of Year 8 for once again making one of our unique Beaudesert musical adaptations such an enjoyable and memorable experience. To bring the academic year to a close, we further celebrated the musical talents of some of Year 8, when listening to their solo performances on Speech Day. Very well done to Lili, Milo, Caspar, Luca and Rudy for providing such expert musical entertainment for this special occasion.

When the first lockdown started, music teachers across the UK began to celebrate and support one another in continuing to provide musical opportunities for young people, by sharing performances, compositions, successes and achievements via #candomusic. This year I have realised that together at Beaudesert we will always find ways in which we can resiliently work together as a community to make this simple hashtag a reality. Well done to every child at Beaudesert for your musical achievements this year and I have no doubt that there will be many more to come.

Music Exam Results

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM)

M Berkeley Prep Test Piano S Cooper Prep Test Piano P Floyd Prep Test Piano S Jones Prep Test Piano N McLaughlin Prep Test Piano B Tubbs Prep Test Piano M Berkeley Initial Piano Distinction G Evans Initial Piano Distinction

P Floyd Initial Piano Distinction

B Ratcliffe Initial Piano Distinction

E Thaiss Initial Piano Distinction

D McShane Grade 1 Flute Pass

F Blake Grade 1 Piano Merit

W Goldstone Grade 1 Flute Merit

W Goldstone Grade 1 Piano Merit

T Greig Grade 1 Trumpet Merit W Guise Grade 1 Singing Merit A Oldman Grade 1 Viola Merit

E Tucker Grade 1 Guitar Merit

E Williams Grade 1 Piano Merit

G Gilbey Performance Grade 1, Piano Distinction

S Fitzpatrick Grade 1 Piano Distinction F Frost Grade 1 Piano Distinction

T Lidstone Grade 1 Tenor Horn Distinction

H Matcham Grade 1 Xylophone Distinction O De Rouet Grade 1 Flute Distinction

E Wood Grade 1 Piano Distinction

O Mitchell Grade 2 Piano Pass

F Blake Grade 2 Piano Merit

S Cooper Grade 2 Singing Merit R Gifford Grade 2 Trumpet Merit E Robinson Grade 2 Guitar Merit

O De Rouet Grade 2 Flute Merit M Figgis Grade 2 Flute Distinction G Miller Grade 2 Cello Distinction

R Nicholas Grade 2 Guitar Distinction

Z Halpern-Lande Grade 3 Singing Pass M Gemmill Grade 3 Singing Merit G Miller Grade 3 Cello Merit

S Nicholas Grade 3 Piano Merit

S Nicholas Grade 3 Singing Merit E Skarda Grade 3 Singing Distinction S Thompson Grade 4 Piano Pass A Oldman Grade 4 Singing Merit E Robinson Grade 4 Piano Merit

London College of Music

G Gilbey Step 2 Piano Distinction

Trinity Rock and Pop

D Dickins Initial Drums Merit

M Thaiss Initial Drums Distinction

S Smith Initial Drums Distinction

Trinity College

R Edmonds Grade 4 Euphonium Merit

Rockschool Exam

S Adsani Debut Drums Merit

R Mordaunt-Hoon Grade 1 Drums Merit

B Richardson-Thompson Grade 1 Ukulele Merit M Thaiss Grade 1 Guitar Merit

H Wood Grade 1 Drums Merit

F De Rouet Grade 2 Drums Pass

T Greig Grade 2 Guitar Merit

B Ratcliffe Grade 2 Drum Merit

M Miller Grade 3 Drums Pass

J Thompson Grade 3 Guitar Merit O Bullock Grade 4 Drums Pass

Drama

Senior Production The Ash Girl

When people watch a play they only see the very surface of it, they only see the final product. What people don’t see is the weeks of hard work and thought that goes into creating a successful play.

Mrs Crosbee and Mrs Saunders, assisted by Mrs Austen and Mr Winchester, worked for weeks to plan this play until finally it came to audition week. We signed up on a sheet and they listened to us sing and then allocated us parts. The week after we were measured for costume sizes by Mrs Heseltine.

Then it came to rehearsal time. We had scheduled rehearsals when certain characters plan to do certain scenes. The rehearsals are like the becoming of the characters, it is where you get to know who you are playing and what you are doing. As well as rehearsing the acting, there are people who are sat there all day noting down every prop that is needed and when and where it should be. There are also lighting people who have to learn the play backwards and forwards to learn all of the different lighting cues.

The play has really come along. We all tried on costumes and we have been gathering props. This play has taken a lot of work behind the scenes, days of practice, even the gappies pitched in to make part of the set.

Esmé C, Year 8

Jerusalema Dance

With over 7,000 YouTube views to date, the highlight of the dance calendar this year was undoubtedly The Jerusalema Challenge. Inspired by the dance trend from South Africa, The Jerusalema Challenge saw the coming together of the whole school community in a celebration of dance to music by Master KG. Pupils danced in their classrooms, on the terraces and in the playground, whilst staff danced together in the dining room, school office and marquee, culminating in a fabulous unforgettable film. Response to the film was overwhelming. Hundreds of emails

Speech & Drama

This year, over 130 pupils have taken Speech and Drama lessons either individually, in pairs or in small groups. Pupils followed the LAMDA syllabus in various disciplines including solo and duologue acting, the speaking of verse and prose, public speaking and group acting. Through lockdown and in school, children prepared for the annual exam session (4th – 7th May). Results were extremely high with 93% of children passing with Distinction. Congratulations go to Algie and George in Year 7 who gave a perfect performance, scoring 100%. What an incredible achievement!

Other successes were the four virtual LAMDA Galas for Speech and Drama pupils in the Autumn and Summer Terms, recorded for parents to watch the performances at home. The Galas gave parents the opportunity to feel connected with and see their children’s work during these restricted times, and this initiative will become a regular feature of the Speech and Drama calendar in the future.

LAMDA Exam Results

Distinction (80+) 93% Merit (65+) 7%

CC/CT/SH

from parents and families around the world rejoiced at the strong sense of community shown in the film. The accompanying words of the film explained our reasons for taking up the challenge:

Whilst we must be far apart, the joy of dance brings our whole school community together. Even though we are living in these uncertain times, one thing is for certain. The united force we have when we dance together is unmistakeable. And for those of us with two left feet, remember, when you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way!

Search ‘Beaudesert Park School Jerusalema Dance Challenge’ on YouTube to watch the video.

CC

Jerusalema Dance

Years 4 – 7 Stage Craft Week

Our Prep School Stage Craft Week was a huge success! With stage combat, stage management, sword fighting, wig making and puppetry all on offer, the children had a fabulous time learning new skills and expanding their knowledge of the theatre industry.

Year 5 and Year 7 enjoyed two brilliant stage combat workshops with Maisy Carter from MC Combat. While Year 5 created nail-biting fight scenes and learned how to ‘stage slap’, Year 7 tried their hand at sword-fighting in a ‘swashbuckling’ session.

Louise, from BAFTA and Oscar awardwinning wig maker Peter Owen, in Bristol, joined Year 5 for a morning demonstrating how wigs are made for film and television. The children had the privilege of trying on some of the wigs that Louise brought with her, including one from Nanny McPhee and one made for Nicole Kidman. Did you know that each strand of hair is individually weaved into each wig? Puppeteer Bella from Paper Jungle spoke to Year 6. She showcased some of the incredible puppets she had produced for previous productions and the children were enchanted with how she was able to bring the puppets to life. The children then got to make their own puppets out of recycled bottles, which they completed in their DT lessons later in the term.

West End in Schools worked with our Year 4 children in a drama workshop titled ‘Our World, Our Planet’. Each group chose a different topic to focus on: deforestation, plastic in the ocean and rising sea levels. They asked themselves, ‘What can I do, what can we do and what can you do?’ and devised their own short scenes to demonstrate how to make a difference.

And finally, James Hayden-Harler spoke to the Year 6s on Zoom about his role as a Stage Manager on shows such as Billy Elliot, Beauty and the Beast and Nativity on London’s West End. The children got to see James ‘cuing’ a live show, which involves overseeing the lighting, sound, scenery and actor cues. There are over 30 cues on each page of the script! The children loved it.

All of the children were so inspired to see what it is like on the other side of the curtain and to explore the variety of roles in a working theatre. What a week! The children had so much fun.

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Year 3 Rocking Romans

We worked tirelessly on our play, The Rocking Romans. Everybody got a part, these are the main roles: Wilf as the Presenter, Catherine as Adriana Wall, Jasper as Julien Caesar, Spike and Ruben as Team Remus, and Skylar and Tabitha as Team Romulus. The play is about a game show, two teams compete against each other in a competitive competition. My part was a road builder. There were three of us. There was Thomas, Arthur and me. My costume was a beige-yellowish colour put together with a belt and comfy trousers. My part was to tell the other builders that the surveyors were coming.

I still remember our first rehearsal, it was so fun! Unfortunately the play was moved to the next week because of bad weather so we had a bonus rehearsal. We did three performances and you know what they say, three times the performances, three times the fun.

I am sad the play has been finished, but I’ve got lots more plays to come until the end of Year 8.

Henry J, Year 3