The Arts
The Arts hold a special place in St Bart’s life and we promote individual creativity and aspirational ability wherever possible across all subjects. Students are offered a vast range of opportunities to get involved with creative clubs, activities and events.
Drama
In 2023, students across all year groups collaborated on a fantastic whole school production of Oliver! The Musical. Students not only acted, sang and danced as part of the main cast and chorus but also made props and costumes, took on the role of stage hands, oversaw sound and lighting and played in or conducted our orchestra.
Dance
Held in March, our annual St Bart’s Dance Showcase is also a highlight of the calendar. The evening is a celebration of the St Bart’s dance community and includes the performance of a variety of works from across our different year groups, including exam pieces and work by the Validus Company and Validus Academy. The Validus Company was founded by the Dance Department to support students looking to continue their dance journey at highly competitive dance schools. The Company comprises GCSE and A Level St Bart’s students, all of whom audition for a coveted place. As part of the Showcase our student Dance Leaders also work with local primary schools, who perform their own piece on the night.
Students also perform in the Spring Equinox, which is held at Newbury Corn Exchange and is a celebration of dance, performed by West Berkshire schools, youth dance companies, community projects and specialist performing arts colleges.
Music
The Music department provides many opportunities to perform, including Orchestra Day, where over one hundred students will perform as part of the combined orchestra and choir or within smaller ensembles and as soloists. Students sing and perform at our annual Carol Service at St Nicholas’ church, Newbury, attended by our whole community.
The Music Tour is a particular highlight and in Summer 2023, teachers and students, as well as instruments and equipment, travelled to Italy and performed in Collodi, in Montecatini Terme ( where many great Italian composers have written music) and Luca in the Church of San Paolino, as well as finding time to visit Florence, Siena, Pisa and the Montecatini caves.
Art & Design
St Bart’s participates in the West Berkshire and North Hampshire Open Studios scheme, with a selection of work from our Fine Art, Photography, Graphic Communication and Textile Design students. The school also produces its own online Summer Exhibition at the end of the school year with a wide range of student work and accomplishment on display.
Co-Curricular Opportunities
The Arts play a significant role in the school’s annual House Championship with the House Arts and Enrichment Shield fiercely contested. Students are given the opportunity to compete in House Music, House Dance, House Drama, House Art and House Film. The latter event is the latest addition to the House events and is run by our Film & Media department. Students across all year groups immerse themselves in the world of film to create eight exciting shorts for an evening of premieres. This involves students turning their hand to script-writing, acting, camerawork, lighting, sound, set, costume, hair and make-up.
Throughout the academic year, students enjoy specialist workshops aimed at all ages and abilities which are led by external professionals from across the country.
Facilities
St Bart’s school hall features tiered seating and full sound and light rigging controlled by our tech gallery. We also have 2 music classrooms with Mac suites, a Sixth Form study room, a recording studio and 9 practice rooms. Students benefit from 2 drama studios and 2 dance studios. We have 5 art classrooms with pottery and ceramic facilities, including a kiln. Our Graphic Communication classroom features an A0 printer, sublimation heat press and computers with access to Adobe Creative Suite. St Bart’s has 2 dedicated textiles classrooms, each with a suite of sewing machines, overlockers, 2 embellishing machines, a CAD Embroidery machine, a sublimation printer and a heat press.
