Co-Curricular Update, 28 January 2021

The Arts at St Paul’s

Pupils at St Paul’s have always enjoyed a wide range of opportunities for music-making, including orchestras, chamber music, choirs and jazz groups. This remains unchanged even as we face another national lockdown with most rehearsals back up and running again virtually. These groups range from the String Quartet to Music Tech and the department’s latest addition, Folk Music Club with Dr Evans. Folk Music Club is open to all pupils in the senior school; they do not need to have any prior experience and the ability to read music is not a pre-requisite to joining. Dr Evans will guide pupils through some easy but satisfying folk music from around the British Isles. A short video made by Dr Evans can be found on the Music section of the Co-Curricular Hub, in which he introduces the new club and plays a folk tune called “The Lads of North Tyne”.

Drama fosters community and facilitates communication, which is more important than ever as we try to keep connected as a school community during the lockdown.

The Drama Department is pleased to announce the third annual SPS Film Making Competition, which will be judged in the second half of the Spring Term. This year’s competition will take place during lockdown, and therefore they will be looking for individual submissions. Directors will have the opportunity to have their short films shown to the school community, discuss their work, and compete for awards given to the most exceptional pieces.

In addition to the Junior Play Reading, the  Drama Department has recently launched the Senior Play Reading Society, open to all Sixth Form and Eighth Form pupils. Starting with Waiting for Godot and Endgame by Samuel Beckett, they will read and discuss a new play each week, ranging from the mid-twentieth century to present-day texts. The Junior Playreading Society led by Mr Dormandy is reading the “downright brilliant” (NY Times) Mr Burns, a funny, dark and thought-provoking play set in a post-apocalyptic future where survivors create a new culture from half-remembered episodes of The Simpsons.