TERRIFIC TRIP TO TATE MODERN!

or a sculpture. The symbolism from painters or sculptors past, when reflected in their pieces, encouraged the current pupils at Wetherby Senior to pick apart the forms and structures within the pieces and think why that would relate to the artist’s history and his or her influences throughout their times.

Overall, it waws a terrific trip to the Tate Modern, leaving us all with a lot to think about and create and I can’t wait to spend the summer adding to my A Level coursework using the inspiration I have gained!

Casper S, Year 12 writes...

On Thursday 29th April, Wetherby Senior’s GCSE cohort (and me!) embarked upon a wonderful opportunity to visit the Tate Modern in London. This trip both inspired mine and the other pupils’ artistic vision when approaching the new projects at hand. By carefullye examining the artist’s work and the accompanying plaques, we were able to see if these artists could harmoniously blend well within our projects. We all found that some of the artworks within the Tate Modern would play a role in our upcoming decisions about where to go with our coursework. We were encouraged to take a range of photographs and sketches that we could later use as reference when coming up with an array of different and interesting ideas for our projects.

The prospective art pupils and I toured the entire permanent collection with Miss Bradley, who told us about the artworks and then gave us the chance, after our tour of the exhibit, to go back and draw the paintings or sculptures in a small sketchbook. This was my favourite part of the trip, as people seemed to be fascinated with what I was drawing (especially tourists). By selecting pieces from the museum, my fellow pupils and I tried to communicate what was in them into our sketchbooks and, by being given an hour to do so, some of us were able to effectively demonstrate the delicate forms and perhaps even the intricacies of the artworks on display.

As a conscientious art pupil at Wetherby Senior, I found this trip captivating for myself and my ideas, helping to form the next step for my art project on the topics of light and patterns. This trip allowed us all to broaden our understanding of different pieces and concepts, which highlighted the many different backgrounds and thematic influences which are embodied within a painting

Many thanks to Miss Maroudi and Miss Bradley.

THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR: 19th CENTURY

RUSSIAN SATIRE BROUGHT TO LIFE IN 21st CENTURY LONDON

Oscar F, Year 11 writes...

It was 7pm sharp as lights went up on Wetherby’s latest dramatic production. All evening, London had seen a sort of mundane drizzle – an adjective with only the starkest contrast to what The Government Inspector turned out to be. A lively, farcical, and yet stunningly timely commentary on deceit and corruption, The Government Inspector centred around the theme of identity as an indigent civil servant is mistaken for a high-ranking government official, through which all ranks of the quaint ‘70s town (brought to life through perfectly hideous décor) are exploited for money, food and even their hand in marriage.

The 1836 Russian play, written by Nikolai Gogol, was revived spectacularly by Wetherby’s very own Mr. Tibbles, who painstakingly translated each and every word, all whilst adapting it to the context of a 21st century Britain – a process described as both “gruelling” and “a hoot!”, as anything worth doing is.

Joined also by a powerful fivewoman-strong ensemble from Francis Holland Regent’s Park (after a Covid-necessitated hiatus to the dramatic partnership), the play’s biggest strength was perhaps its tremendous and talented cast; a brother-sister duo (Theo in Year 9 and Aliana), wonderfully chaotic identical twins (Lev and Iakov, Year 8) and palpable chemistry brought the comedy of the play to life.

Particularly comical scenes included a tense exchange between the “inspector” (Redford, Year 9) and his assistant Ozzy (Giorgio, Year 9), the unrelenting and raucous chaos of twins Bobby and Donny any time they had to enter or exit the stage, and a mother-daughter competition (Astrid and Scarlett from FHS) to earn the love of the apparently affluent government official and the unexpected outfit changes that came with that.

In the background, delicately toned intricate wallpaper, an agile sofa-bed, creative lighting design from Mr. Willis and hilariously authentic costume design brought an immersive realism and stunning layer of depth to this production of only years 7-9.

Truly a stand-out performance, The Government Inspector fits perfectly in Wetherby’s catalogue of superb productions – I absolutely can’t wait to see what the Lower School pulls out of the bag to top this next year!