GHS NEWS GLENTHORNE HIGH SCHOOL: SPECIALIST ARTS COLLEGE February 2013
Inside this issue: Sixth Form Academies Evening Page 2 Year 11 Mock Results Page 3 Poetry is Truth Page 4 Year 8 MAG&T Charity Challenge Parent Council Year 8 Shakespeare Event Jack Petchey Challenge Page 6 Year 7 & 8 Swimming Gala Year 7 & 8 Athletics Page 7 Page 8 Sports News Page 9 Sports News Gym Show Page 10 Sports Direct Page 11 Dates for the Diary Page 12
OLIVER!! This week saw the end of four months hard labour; four months of choreography, vocal workshops, line learning, long rehearsals, highs and lows. Was it worth the waiting for? It always is. Glenthorne High School is famous for its outstanding whole school productions however, this year the creative team have truly surpassed themselves with their interpretation of Charles Dickens’ infamous novel, Oliver Twist. The story centres around the life of little Oliver, the only boy to ever have the courage to ask for more. Oliver travels through the dark underbelly of Victorian London as well as its glorious suburbs and is joined in his adventure by a host of other characters – from cocky Dodger, to menacing Bill Sykes. As well as our old hands, several new faces have appeared amongst the cast this year. Over the course of the last few months the younger pupils have dominated rehearsals with their sheer enthusiasm and willingness to give everything to their roles. Without them, most of the joyous energy of the production would have been lost. However, that is not to say that older pupils weren’t as committed as ever. An enormous number of sixth formers appeared in the show in support of their younger peers and they acted as role models to those newer members of the school. In times of crisis they could always be relied upon to work hard and take performance risks. For many of our year 13 students, this was their final chance to show us all their impressive talents before moving on to university or pursuing their chosen career and they certainly went out with a bang! Moving away from those who stand in the spotlight, we cannot neglect the incalculable efforts of those members of staff who operate it. These are the people who make the production and just because you can’t always see them, it doesn’t mean that they are not integral to the running of the well-oiled machine that is theatre. We must take a moment to recognise the many hours that were set aside to plan, direct, choreograph, score and bring the show to life. It takes a lot of hard work and the achievements of the production show just how devoted the entire team was to its success.
All in all, Oliver has been an enormous achievement for every single person involved and the only thing left to say is good luck to next year’s directive team!