Arts Enrichment
2011/12 has been an extremely busy year for the Arts College. Below are some of the events that we have participated in and details of shows and performances that have showcased our students talents.
ABRSM Music Exam Successes
Students taking music lessons have recently had succes in the following:-
Nina Bunting-Mitcham - Singing - Grade 4 - Distinction
Lucy Clements - Clarinet - Grade 5 - Pass
Jessica Edgley - Singing - Grade 3 -istinction
Misha Folker - Piano - Grade 3 - Merit
Bethany Marsh - Singing - Grade 8 -Distinction
Jessica Scrine - Singing - Grade 3 - Merit
Sophie Still - Flute - Grade 5 - Pass
Congratulations to them all!
Our Unicorn on the route for the Olympic Torch Relay - July 2012
Summer Sing - June 2012
On Tuesday 12th June the TDA Junior choir and choirs and musicians from 3 local primary schools (Dogsthorpe, Parnwell and Abbotsmede) were involved in a ‘Summer Sing’ concert in the Thomas Deacon Academy. It was such a privilege to host the concert in our Music Department. The choirs and musicians performed to a packed audience of students and parents. Well done to all the students involved.
Lion and Unicorn Project - April 2012
Students from the Thomas Deacon Academy Arts College have been involved in the Lion and Unicorn Project. The idea behind this project is to paint or decorate either a sculpture of a lion or unicorn in a way that represents Peterborough. The finished sculptures will then be used to line the Olympic Torch route on July 3rd. Sculptures will then be displayed in Central Park on the 7th and 8th July and will form part of a sculpture trail in the City Centre over the Summer period.
The Thomas Deacon Academy design, overseen by Mrs Pip Hall, was inspired by the portrait artist Chuck Close, who following a stroke could only paint small areas in pattern. These were then used to create his portraits.
Students began the process of designing patterned squares using the 6 Academy colours as a representation of the different cultures both within the academy and Peterborough. Each pattern is to be seen as a portrait to signify the students within the academy and the people of the City of Peterborough. These designs were then transferred onto the Unicorn and the process of painting them onto the unicorn sculpture began. The process and the finished result can be seen in the photographs.
Guys and Dolls - March 2012
This year’s school musical was Guys and Dolls. 40 students from all year groups retold this musical classic which included such famous songs as Luck Be A Lady, Sit Down Your Rockin’ the Boat and I’ve never been in Love Before. The musical ran from Wed 21st – Sat 24th March including a matinee for local primary schools on Friday afternoon. The students all worked incredibly hard during the rehearsals and made the performances a positive experience for those attending. Alan McMurdo, CEO, thought it was so good he came to see it twice!
William Law Visit - March 2012
On Wednesday the 14th of March the Junior Choir visited and performed at William Law School assembly. The audience consisted of approximately 500 pupils. Despite being very nervous, the choir made a good impression on the younger children.
Hereward Harmony Workshop - March 2012
Several students took part in a Workshop with Hereward Harmony, a local Barber shop quartet. Students took part in a warm up which involved passing a “Cluck” between them. They them performed “What shall we do with the Drunken Sailor” and two further songs involving 4 part harmonies.
ARTiculation competition - February 2012
The national ARTiculation competition was held at the prestigious Fitzwilliam museum in Cambridge on the 9th February 2012. The second heat of seven was of an exceptionally high standard. Seven students were selected for the outstanding quality of their presentations by the regional co-ordinator, Lucy Sailsbury.
A varied range of Historical and Contemporary Art presentations were delivered confidently in front of a nerve racking audience of thirty Art Historian experts, alongside family, friends and supporters.
Janna King was drawn second to present but due the first candidates nerves she was suddenly thrown into the lime light by speaking first, initially this put her on the back foot, however within seconds she fully established her presence and beautifully articulated ‘Diago on my mind’ - A painting by Freda Kahlo. On completion of the presentation she was questioned by the curator of the Fitzwilliam Museum about why the Artist had influenced her own work. She received well deserved strong round of applause and sat down with a high sense of achievement. On completion of the presentation the curator deliberated for some time before making her decision on awarding. Pleasingly, Janna was awarded runner up and was presented with a fabulous Architecture book.
All of the audience were truly impressed by the high calibre of A level speakers and thoroughly enjoyed talks in a wonderful atmosphere and setting.
Rock/Pop Workshop - January 2012
On Wednesday 11th January the Music Department invited The ‘Music Workshop Company’ into the department to run a performance workshop for 24 Year 8 students.
The workshop was led by 2 professional musicians and experienced workshop leaders. Students were given the opportunity to play in their own ‘pop’ group performing on either drums, guitars, keyboards or vocals and they were asked to perform their pieces at the end of the session. The enthusiasm and encouragement from the leaders played a huge part in this creating a fantastic educational and fun event. The students really enjoyed the day and the skills that they developed will help them to continue create successful performances in the future. 
PRC - Peterborough Arts Festival - January 2012
Year 12 Art and Design BTEC students successfully expanded their practical Art knowledge by attending three separate workshops at the Peterborough Regional College in January. Students attended a variety or workshops including Textile and Weaving, Sculpture and 3 D photography. Students developed new skills and we are already looking forward to attending next years festival.
During the festival Peterborough Regional College held its annual Art competition. We entered three strong pieces of Art work for the different categories, two paintings by year 13 BTEC Art and Design students, Roman Pitka and Yasmin Attalah. Plus two sculpture forms one by Y12 A level student Ellis Donovan and once again Roman Pitka. The competition was strong in all areas and we surprisingly achieved second place for Roman’s wire sculptural form ‘Falling from Heaven’. The course director was so impressed with the work it has inspire the College to commission a wire sculptor to represent the 2012 Olympic games. Well done to all the students’ who participated, the work was commented on many times from the large number of visiting guests.
Christmas Concert 2011
The Christmas concert was performed to a large expectant crowd who were looking forward to a wide variety of performances from the Concert Band, Junior Choir and Indian Drummers. They were joined by the Show Choir and Abbotsmede Junior School Choir who were both making their debut performance.
The Concert band were joined by Junior brass players from Abbotsmede, Dogsthorpe and Fulbridge Junior Schools to perform “Frosty the snowman”.
The audience enjoyed the premiere of a new piece of music entitled ‘Yuletide Rag’, composed by our very own Mr Phillips, which was played extremely well by the Concert Band.
The concert concluded with a rendition of Jingle Bells, where all performers participated along with an enthusiastic audience.
East Angles Devising Project
Year 10 BTEC drama students have been given the opportunity to work with Eastern Angles Theatre Company, devising a piece of drama in conjunction with the Lindens residential home. The young and ‘elders’ came together, discussed ideas and exchanged stories reflecting how it was growing up then and now, identifying the differences and similarities.
The Year 10s then developed drama pieces based on what they had heard. Kate Hall, Eastern Angles artistic director came to the TDA and worked with the students on techniques to help devise performance material.
At the end of the process young and old came together at Jack Hunt Academy, who were also participating in the project, and took part in a performance workshop, which showcased the devised performances. The year 10 BTEC Drama students produced some really thought provoking work and the way they interacted with the ‘elders’ made for a really memorable event
AGT - Hip Hop Workshop - December 2011
On Friday 2nd December the Dance department welcomed Iain and Tarna from Street Dance Entertainment. Selected students from years 8 – 10 took part in a full day of Hip Hop Dance where they were taught how to lock, wave, puzzle and much more. Students were taught a sequence to Flo-rida’s ‘Good Feeling’. Students then performed their work in front of an audience of 120 who were so thrilled with the show; they wanted to see it again. All of our students were incredibly impressive and demonstrated the high levels of skill that we regularly observe at the TDA. The choreography taught was extremely difficult, but our students displayed an extraordinary understanding of the intricate movements and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Performing Arts Christmas Festival - December 2011
On the 1st December over 100 Thomas Deacon Academy students took part in the Arts College’ Performing Arts Christmas Festival; a celebration of music, dance and drama work, which students, from across all year groups, have been creating.
Year 9 BTEC Music students performed their renditions of three Beatles classics, while the choir in contrast got everyone in festive mood singing The Holly and the Ivy and Let It Snow.
Dances were performed by year 9, 11 and 12 students as well as the TDA Dance Company. Drama students performed a contrasting selection of pieces from The Trojan Horse to Ibsen’s classic A Doll’s House. An audience of 150 were taken on a whirlwind journey through every aspect of the Arts.
Shakespeare Festival - October 2011
On Thursday 13th October, 16 Year 11 BTEC Drama students took part in the Shakespeare Schools Festival at the Key Theatre. The Academy students performed a 30 minute abridged version of Macbeth. Three other local schools performed versions of As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night.
As part of the project the students participated in a workshop taken by the directors of the National Youth Theatre of GB, developing their performance and verse speaking skills. The students performed with great aplomb and gained much critical acclaim for their production from the organisers.
SSF is the largest youth drama festival in the UK. For the last ten years they have worked with teachers to challenge the preconception that studying Shakespeare is difficult, dry or dull through a combination of teacher training, workshops and student performance in a local professional theatre. In the process they have enabled over 90,000 young people to appreciate the genius of Shakespeare through a creative, hands-on approach to the texts.
