SCHOOL EVENTS | PG 24

On Friday 15th July, CENTRESTAGE performed their BVGS Summer Showcase in Big School. Over 30 students were involved in three performances of 'Ernie's Incredible Illucinations' by Alan Ayckbourn,

'DNA' by Dennis Kelly and 'Bull' by Mike Bartlett. The production also included a wonderful mix of live music and speech performances. It was a real joy to be able to watch the progression of performances from Year 7 to Year 10, and we were so proud of every single student involved. Photos will be published in one of our September weekly newsletters.

After the disappointment of our last school play, Teechers being cancelled due to Covid, we are delighted to announce that CENTRESTAGE will be back running a whole school play, next year! We are currently in the process of selecting which play this will be - we can't wait to share our ideas soon!

We are inviting any students (Year 7 - Year 13 inclusive) who want to be part of this exciting project, to please get in touch! Drama helps develop social skills, team building, confidence and empathy. We would love to hear from you! You can message R O'Dowd on Teams or email admin@centrestageschool.org.uk.

Lessons next year will run as follows: Year 7 and 8 Drama: Monday 3:05 - 4:05 Year 9 and 10 Drama: Tuesday 3:05 - 4:15 Year 11, 12 and 13 Drama: Wednesday during Period 5 - Miss McGrail and Mrs Brown

'Shakespeare in the Hall' Summer Club, 8th - 12th August 2022

Looking for something for your child to get involved in this summer? CENTRESTAGE are delighted to announce that their successful 'Shakespeare in the Hall' summer course will be back this August! This year the course will run from 8th - 12th August at Wylde Green URC, Sutton Coldfield. In sessions, students will be learning about Shakespeare’s life and works in fun and exciting ways, creating their own ‘Shakespeare in the Hall’ workshop performance which will be open to all friends and family on the afternoon of Friday 12th August (the last afternoon of the club). As I’m sure you are aware, Shakespeare is an integral part of English lessons for students of Year 7+, but many students find this a daunting experience. Our summer club is a fantastic opportunity to get to know more about Shakespeare in an engaging and practical way. The performance will entail a mash up of interesting facts about Shakespeare’s life, scenes from various Shakespeare plays and the students’ own improvised work devised from our practical workshops.

There will be two courses to pick from: the first course will focus on the core texts of Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Macbeth. The second course will focus on Much Ado About Nothing (which is often a set text for GCSE and A-Level), Richard III and As You Like It.

Sessions will be taught by a team of experienced CENTRESTAGE teachers, led by Ella McGrail (co-principal and lead teacher for CENTRESTAGE at Bishop Walsh and BVGS). Ella, after gaining her Masters degree, is currently studying for her doctorate degree in Shakespeare run by Birmingham University, based at the Shakespeare Institute in StratfordUpon-Avon. Ella will be joined by Beth Brown (co-principal and lead teacher for CENTRESTAGE at BVGS). Beth is a qualified secondary English teacher.

For more information, please contact CENTRESTAGE at admin@centrestageschool.org.uk

Further progress from our sensational Year 8 rower, Taylor. He has truly taken to rowing like a duck to water and is tearing up the record book, reaching 2km in a time of 7:32m. This is an unbelievably good performance for a Year 8 rower. Well done. Well done to Anuraag for his recent achievement outside school in a cricket match played for his club, Sutton Coldfield Cricket Club. He bowled an impressive spell of 9 overs, 2 maidens, 6 runs and 6 wickets against Smethwick. Spot his name on the board.

Well done to the Year 12 group who received excellent results in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge. Set by an experienced team of teachers and university chemists, the challenge is designed to take students significantly beyond the syllabus and encourage them to think about science in the way they would at university. Well done to the six year 12 students who sat the HSK2 exam has all passed and received the certificate.