THE ARTS

The

Department/Faculty reviews

Arts

This academic year has been an exciting one for the Senior School Art Department, as well as one of many firsts. As I sit and write this now, I think about teaching my very first lesson at Shebbear. The Summer of 2021 had already been massively eventful, what with me relocating from Rugby School in the midlands to ‘going all in’ and taking the job at Shebbear, as well as putting an offer in for a house a couple of days later! I had a few weeks to soak up North Devon’s beauty and settle into my new home, before starting my new role.

Although I was immediately aware of how welcoming and inherently kind the Shebbear community was, there was still a slight sense of trepidation as I set up base in the new Art Department. And how very ‘new’ it was; a blank canvas in fact. The Maintenance team had worked tirelessly over the summer to transform the space, to becoming the beautifully light, airy and open plan studio that it now is. I felt very privileged to be able to teach in such a wonderful space, conducive to learning and creativity, at the heart of the school. It was fantastic to see it modernised and yet full of character as the bones of the original building endured through vaulted beams and a little Victorian fireplace, serving as reminders of the school’s age and history. After getting settled and arranging my art history books and resources, all that was left was to actually start using the space for what it was meant for, teaching.

After that initial feeling of butterflies, which seems inescapable at the start of all new major life choices, it only took seeing all of my classes within the first week, once, to feel as if it was the right choice. I am continually impressed by students’ willingness and determination to try out new things, especially when they are challenging. For instance, Form 1 have explored various different techniques and processes, such as making wire insects; a medium that isn’t the easiest to handle. The Art Department now boasts a host of butterflies, beetles and dragonflies, in Form 1’s very own installation. It is also fantastic to see pupils’ curiosity to understand the context behind different artists and movements. Form 2 engaged in a really interesting discussion about the Mexican festival ‘The Day of the Dead’ producing beautiful sugar skull prints as well as having an insightful understanding about what they truly symbolise. Form 3 have also produced some really characterful masks, all out of upcycled materials, engaging with ideas about sustainability and thinking creatively on many different levels. It has also been fantastic teaching Form 4 to Upper Sixth pupils, as they really start to develop their individual identities as artists. It was wonderful to have some of the Form 4 pupils’ work exhibited at the Burton Gallery, as well as Matthew actually winning the senior school prize for his intricate and imaginative lino prints. It is wonderful to see the students’ brilliant work being celebrated and championed within the local community. During the last week of term, our Form 5 and Upper Sixth artists had their work showcased in an end of year exhibition, again, celebrating all that they have done and achieved over the past two years. Seeing the variety, skill, thought and ingenuity in each of their outcomes was a reminder of the power of expression through art and I hope it will inspire younger pupils’ in our community to keep making, sewing, sticking, colouring and creating.

Miss Kaur Art Department

Music

2021-2022 has been a whirlwind of getting live music back-on-track after the effects of the pandemic, and we have loved every moment!

Co-curricular music has been booming and we are delighted to have set up a new Girls’ Choir, Boys’ Choir and Prep School Choir, as well as reinvigorating our Orchestra after so many lockdowns and months of social distancing.

Music-making in the Prep School has gone from strength to strength, and we were delighted to be able to put on two Prep School Informal Concerts this academic year, to give pupils the opportunity to perform in front of a friendly audience in readiness for upcoming exams and larger concerts that they may be involved with in the future. Both concerts were jam-packed with fantastic performances. In our most recent concert, pupils as young as Evie and Ava in Prep 1 performed as beginners on the violin, as well as some more advanced players like Cherrie and Tyler, both in Prep 5. A huge well done to all of our budding performers!

Following a ‘virtual’ Christmas in the Music Department, which included our Performing Arts Christmas Showcase, our Carol Service and a fantastic cover of Ed Sheeran and Elton John’s ‘Merry Christmas’ by Ben, Henry and Mitzi, we were finally able to hold our first ‘in person’ event in February, when our drummers, guitarists and singers outshone themselves at Gig Night. Some extremely polished performances wowed the crowd, with pupils from Form 1 through to Upper 6 all performing to an extremely high standard. More on Gig Night on page 66.

Pupils in our choirs and orchestra have rehearsed each week in the Recital Hall in our beautiful Music School and are now beginning to develop a variety of pieces in our repertoire for concerts. In our most recent concert, our Performing Arts Easter Showcase, each group performed to an extremely high standard. We were most impressed with how the pupils conducted themselves on stage at this concert, which featured soloists as well as some special Drama performances. Bearing in mind that concerts had been cancelled, rescheduled or live-streamed for the past two years, these pupils presented themselves with so much confidence and courage.

A huge well done to everybody who was involved.

This academic year has seen some changes with instrumental and vocal exams for pupils taking 1:1 peripatetic lessons. Live exams have resumed, however recorded examinations are now widely accepted by the exam boards, which are sent off to be judged. Many pupils have passed exams with exceptional marks, however we would like to highlight Toby who has recently gained a distinction for his Grade 8 Drum Kit exam and Sebastian who has recently gained a merit for his Grade 5 Clarinet exam, both of which were taken remotely. A huge congratulations, gentlemen!

Individual Music Examination Results

We are delighted that our pupils have continued to achieve highly in their Trinity and Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) examinations this year and congratulations to everyone that has taken exams this year..

Mrs Sadler-Smith Head of Digital, Creative and Performing Arts

17th February 2022 saw the return of Gig Night - what a fantastic evening!

Our talented pupils gave some absolutely outstanding vocal, drum, guitar, saxophone and piano performances of songs by Radiohead, Blur, Bruno Mars, Imagine Dragons, Ashe, Adele and Bastille among many others - Niamh hitting the high notes at the end of ‘Moral of the Story’ was definitely a highlight, as was Mitzi who gave an amazing debut performance of her new song, Pretty Boy. Henry performed a brilliant version of Creep by Radiohead while Toby’s drum and sax solos were sensational, not to mention all our other musicians who really put their all into their performances - you could see they really enjoyed being up on the stage having the opportunity to perform in their own style - and Will who was an excellent compere. Mr Shephard-Blandy, one of our parents and the Director of Illuminate Design, a specialist lighting, sound, staging and AV products, very kindly offered to provide all of the sound and lighting for the event. It looked and sounded fantastic and gave the event a really professional feel. We cannot thank him enough for this as it was all done voluntarily and really did transform the evening atmosphere - aside from the Assembly Hall looking brilliant, he also worked with some of our older pupils, teaching them about the kit and how to programme everything so that they could be in charge of it on the night.

Drama & Performing Arts

In many ways the most exciting aspect of drama at Shebbear this year has been the return to normality. Not wearing face masks, being able to direct pupils on stage (rather than from more than two metres away) and, of course, inviting live audiences back into school are things which perhaps I took for granted in the past but will not do so from now on.

The first opportunity to invite an audience into the Memorial Hall was through the Form 1 to 4 drama activity group, who provided a Prep School audience with a version of the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol in the last week of the Michaelmas term. We always enjoy putting on plays for the younger pupils at Shebbear and I hope that watching the older pupils will help to inspire our budding thespians of the future.

It was fantastic to see some of our actors performing in the virtual Performing Arts Showcase at Christmas, and even better to see them in front of a live audience at the Easter Showcase, when we enjoyed monologues from Toby and Heidi, Mime from Rowan and a hilarious taster of the famous ‘Handbag’ scene from ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ by Jack and Niall.

This year has seen our first BTEC Performing Arts cohort in the Lower Sixth. This term, they have been working on the challenging Eugene Ionescu avant-garde play, Rhinoceros. This is an extraordinary play in which a political metaphor is drawn as a French community are gradually, one at a time, turned into rhinoceroses by a sweeping regime. The pupils have adapted superbly to this style of theatre and to a play which resonates so strongly with the world in which we live.

I mentioned the Oscar Wilde play, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ earlier, which a group of Sixth Formers have been working on since last year! This has been postponed twice because of Covid already, but I was delighted that the group was keen to perform the play, as originally intended, in the open-air. Finally - this took place on Monday 4th July and was a really entertaining and high quality evening.

Of course, I cannot end this review without mentioning our fantastic school production of Grease in March. This was truly a sensational success leaving the school buzzing with excitement! You can read more about it on the next page.

Mr Pomroy Head of Drama

LAMDA RESULTS

Christmas 2021 Acting Grade 1 Emilia - Prep 4 (Distinction)

Grade 7 Sienna - Form 5 (Distinction)

Speaking in Public Grade 7 Kania - U6 (Distinction)

Grade 8 Niall - U6 (Distinction) Holly - U6 (Distinction)

Speaking - Verse & Prose Grade 6 Alice - Form 4 (Distinction)

Grade 8 Ben - U6 (Distinction)

Easter 2022 Miming Entry Charlie D - Prep 4 (Distinction) Emilia - Prep 4 (Distinction) Grade 4 Rowan - Form 3 (Distinction)

Speaking - Verse & Prose Stage 3 Charlie D - Prep 4 (Distinction)

Entry Emilia - Prep 4 (Merit)

Grade 3 Evelyn - Form 1 (Merit) Alexander - Form 1 (Merit)

Speaking in Public Grade 8 Kania - U6 (Distinction) Benjamin - U6 (Distinction)

Reading for Performance Grade 8 Niall - U6 (Distinction)

Acting Grade 3 Dylan - Form 1 (Distinction) Heidi - Form 2 (Distinction) George K - Form 1 (Merit) George D - Form 1 (Merit) Archie - Form 1 (Merit)