April 2013

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April 2013

Week beginning 29 April. LCM music grade exams. Music peri students 30 April, 1 and 2 May Springboard. Year 13 Theatre performances 7‐9 May The Tempest 9 May Year 11 Celebra on Evening 10 May Year 13 Leavers Assembly 16 May Periscope, music performances by peri students

ALUMNI NEWS 8th April 2013 Scarle Billham (Music ’11 & Management ’12) Performing in Take a Deep Breath and Breathe at the Oval House Theatre 16th – 20th April Emma Dennis Edwards (Theatre ’06) the playwright’s next two plays My Around the House (17th – 27th) and Oct One Play (25th) can be seen at the Oval House Theatre this month. Sco Jennings (Dance ’06) had opportunity to dance Sacre at the Bolshoi. Henry Tredinnick (Musical Theatre ’11) recently modelled for Rokit vintage range. Georgia Warner (Theatre ’08) appeared on Channel 4’s The Intern. Aisha Weise Forbes (Musical Theatre ’12) accepted into the Na onal Youth Theatre. Tosh Wanogho Maud (Dance 2007) former winner of The BRIT School’s Maureen Milgram award. Performing in the Book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales Theatre Back to BRIT Tim Casson (Dance ’03) m@ mcasson.co.uk now in Jasmin Varidmon is leading a physical theatre workshop with YR 12 Dance students on Tuesday 11th June 11.30‐4.30pm. Jessica Rose Hall (Theatre ’06) Talk to Theatre Students. Ellio Barnes Worrell (Theatre ’09) Class with Theatre Students. Jonathan Wright (Theatre ’04) hosted Professional Opportuni es workshop with Year 12 Theatre students (5th April.) Awards Nomina ons/Recipients Adele, Leona, Ka e & Jessie named in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List: Young music millionaires in UK and Ireland Music rank Music rank Name 2013 wealth 2012 wealth 1        Adele       £30m     £20m 2        Cheryl Cole      £14m      £12m 3=        Leona Lewis    £12m      £12m 3=        Katie Melua     £12m      £12m 5        Florence Welch    £9m      £7m 6=        Charlotte Church    £8m      £8m 6=        Jessie J      £8m      £5m  Jennifer Sheridan (BDC ’03) Editor on Paul O’Grady for the Love of Dogs which has been nominated for a BAFTA. Kate Tempest (AKA Kate Calvert ‐ Music ’04) won Ted Hughes Award for Innova on in Poetry (h p://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/27/kate‐tempest‐ted‐hughes‐poetry‐prize ) Tour / Gig Dates Joe Worricker (Music ’07) acous c show at the Slaughtered Lamb 1st May

Chris Dye, Stonewall’s Educa on Officer said: ‘As Stonewall School Champions, The BRIT School are making sure that students are at the heart of their efforts to tackle bullying. It was a privilege to a end their annual LGBT history month perfor‐mance and to witness the excep onal talent, professionalism and understanding the students have about homophobic bullying, and also of the posi ve contribu ons gay people have made. When work to tackle homophobia is led by students themselves, this has the most impact. ’

‘The LGBT assembly brought people together and opened my eyes to discrimina on’ – Deja (Y10)

‘This was a beau ful and brave morning full of brave and beau ful young people’ – Stuart Worden (Headteacher)

‘I thought that LGBT assembly was very entertaining and was a chance to share everyone’s talent. It discussed an important issue and was very effec‐

ve in doing so’ Lucy. C (Y10) ‘The LGBT assembly was beau ful’ – Betsy‐ Aisling (Y11)

‘Being in the LGBT assembly was so enjoyable; I am now more open to talk‐ing about sexuality’ – Joanna (Y10)

‘The LGBT assembly was very touching and brought everyone together’ – Madison (Y11)

‘The assembly was fun and different, yet emo onal and intriguing. It con‐veyed such a meaningful message’ Eliza (Y10)

‘The assembly was really informa ve and really made me think about others’ emo ons’ Tyler (Y10)

‘It was really inspiring…’ Ben (Y10)

“I thought the LGBT assembly was fantas c and funny as well as informa ve. 5 stars.” Ellis (Y10)

Matthew Todd of Attitude Magazine said: ‘The LGBT assemblies at The BRIT School are amongst the most brilliant things I've ever had the pleasure to see. They have a really fun side with kids performing or inspired by work by artists such as Elton John or Tennesse Williams or performing excerpts from Jonathan Harvey's play ‘Beautiful Thing’ for example. I was particularly bowled over by the multimedia version of the Queen classic ‘I Want to Break Free’. I've never seen a room full of students cheer so loudly! The assemblies also have an important side to them. The fact is that society is made up of lots of different people and it is incredibly important for young people to understand, explore and celebrate this. There are LGBT kids in every single school up and down the land and many of them are having an incredibly diffi‐cult time, something that is reflected by the vastly higher than average rates in LGBT kids of depression, self harm and sadly, some‐times suicide. This isn't the case at The BRIT School. The message that is sent out is that everyone is worthy of respect no matter what skin colour, religion, gender or sexuality. It's a ground breaking initiative and the kids are lucky to be at a school which ena‐bles everyone to have the best chance of fulfilling his or her potential. The BRIT School is providing a blueprint that should, and I'm sure will be, followed by all institutions.’ 

and The BRIT School said...

April 2013 April 2013

I unpacked my luggage when I arrived at my exchanges four‐story house, dare I say house, it was more like a castle. Com‐prising a swimming pool and gym. My room was well decorat‐ed and everything seemed to be neatly organised. Feeling like an intruder, with my fluffy blonde hair and arriving from a foreign country, with a completely different language, I was nervous. Being the tallest in their household didn't come to my advantage either, as having to duck under every door frame didn't coincide with my brain in the early hours of the morning. I am pretty sure I still have a couple bruises on my forehead.  The family was very friendly, and took care of me as if I was their own child. They showed their hospitality through the extra large bag full of food. Which to me could have been my 

Maya Bruney, 10MOn reports back on the recent Spanish  exchange trip. 

Jennifer Sheridan Jennifer Sheridan completed her AVCE in Media studies at the Brit School back in 2003. Pursuing her educa on at the Uni‐

versity Of Westminster; in 2006 she graduated with a first class Honours in BA Media Studies‐ Television Produc on. She was immediately employed to design graphics for the London Bus Screens, but a year later became a freelance video editor and director. She made a number of music videos; including ‘Make it Mine’ for the US ar st, Jason Mraz. She also edited a number of films at London Fashion Week for high profile fashion designers such as, Pam Hogg, J Maskrey and Mark Fast. Then followed a short interlude as a digital technician on a number of film sets; including Pirates Of The Caribbean 4. However, Jennifer found her way back into tele‐vision to pursue a career edi ng comedy and has since edited comedic content for BBC2, BBC3, E4, C4, SKY and ITV. Last year she edited the ITV series ‘Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs’, which recently won the Na onal Television Award for Best Factual Entertainment programme. Her most recent credit is for wri ng and edi ng the comedy children's series ‘Walk On The Wild Side’ for CBBC. In addi on to her TV work Jennifer has also directed her own short films and comedy videos. She is currently working on her next project; having won the £30,000 grand prize at the Virgin Media shorts awards 2012, with her film ‘Rocket’ that stars her dog Bowie.

We love to hear from former students and catch up with what they have been doing since they le The BRIT School. Here’s a quick update from Jennifer Sheridan and Rosanna Connelly.

Jennifer Sheridan and ‘Bowie’

As I was reaching the end of BRIT, I applied for an internship at Mercury Records in the press department. I was so overjoyed when I was told that they wanted to have me! This meant a paid internship for a year, doing something that interested me and that I was passionate about. They wanted me to start as soon as possible so the pressure was on to get all my work handed in on me! By my last day, I had completed and

handed in all my work and I was ready to start work at Universal. I had a gig on the weekend and then I went straight into my internship. I learned so much every day and got to see how campaigns flourished, it was a great environment to be in! As I was coming to the end of my internship, I knew I needed to start applying for jobs – I was so blessed because a press assistant posi on opened where I was already. I applied for, and got the role! Now I am a permanent employee in the press team. God is good

Rosanna Connolly Publicity Assistant Virgin EMI

On 4th April, the library hosted a lunch me event of live performance poet‐ry. The writer and DJ, Charlie Dark, performed some of his work with current BRIT stu‐dents, Kat Head, an up and coming performance poet and James Kaffenberger, whose wri ng was recently published in a magazine. Earlier in the day Charlie led a workshop with Year 10 Theatre students. Charlie is part of the organisa on, Apples & Snakes that works with young people through spoken word events.

From le : Kat Head, James Kaffenberger and Charlie Dark

Congratulations to Jaiden Ramgeet, Year 11 Broadcast and Digital Commu‐nication student, who has won a place on the National Youth Film Academy course in August. 

I originally applied for the course with Na‐tional Youth Film Academy, back in February.  We had to provide an audition piece of material and during the interview we also had to pro‐

duce other examples of our other work.  There were 1000’s of applicants so I was delighted to learn I had been given a place on the course which will be a fan‐tastic opportunity to work with other young people who are interested in film making.  The course starts in August and will start with every‐one auditioning for specific roles within the groups they have been put in.  I am keen to try  for cinematog‐rapher and am really excited at the prospect of work‐ing with a team and having a specific role that I can really focus on.  The course will last for 10 days during 

which time the group will work together to produce a short film which will be screened at an independent cinema at the end of the course.  At the end of the course we will also all be given a certificate and membership of the National Youth Film Academy and BFI. I am currently studying on the Broadcast and Digital Communication course and they have been really supportive of my application to do the NYFA course.  The BRIT School BDC Course has given me the opportunity to really explore all aspects of the media industry.  I have also been able to work on my filmmaking techniques by working on music videos both inside and out‐side of school.  If you would like to see some samples of my work, please log onto Utube.com/jaidenramgeet  

lunch for the whole week I stayed in Seville, Spain.   I have fond memories with my Spanish exchange, she was very approachable and we shared a lot in common. Including 'Las fiestas', which were probably the closest I will get to Ibiza style parties.   But the Spanish Exchange Trip 2013 was also an educational trip. I have increased my Spanish vocabulary dramatically and even though I only stayed in Seville, Spain for 7 days I feel I do not have to hesitate to speak Spanish. I am very grateful for Senorita Re‐casens and Sam who organised the trip and made sure we were safe and were enjoying ourselves.  The educational visits to famous buildings were interesting as we could all notice how different Seville is compared to London, espe‐cially culturally and architecturally wise. The best visit was the fla‐menco show. It was mixture of dance, music and acting so, coming from a performing arts school it suited us very well.  Some of us have been invited by our Spanish exchanges to go back when there is more hot weather and sun, so maybe we will be able to achieve our sun tans at the end.  

The Na onal Youth Film Academy (NYFA), supported by the Directors Guild Trust and the Directors Guild of Great Britain The NYFA (Na onal Youth Film Academy) is a non for profit organisa on creat‐ed to locate, educate, develop and showcase the talents of excep onally gi ‐ed Young Actors and Film Makers aged 16‐25 years old from around the UK. We provide all Young Film Makers and Actors with the opportunity to train with respected industry professionals and meet with like‐minded individuals to write, film, produce and showcase their own short film.

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On March 1st Maureen Milgram sadly died. Maureen was the project director for the school and was one of the key people in the planning and comple on of the school back in 1991. She devoted her life to educa on and the

crea ve industry and for many years sponsored the Maureen ‘Milgram Award’ for outstanding contribu on to the school. Former winners include Ma Billups who recently returned to the school as Joe Mcelderry’s drummer and Tosh Wanogho‐Maud from Dance who is now in ‘Book of Mormon’ in the West End. We will miss Maureen for her energy and great sup‐port for the school Stuart Worden‐Princpal

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April 2013

April 2013

On 27th March the School was delighted to host a visit from HRH the Duchess of Cornwall. The Duchess has always been interested in the arts and young people and following a visit to Croydon last year she was keen to see one of the town’s most successful ins tu ons. HRH also has also had a keen interest in all genres of music and a ends The Classic BRITs which is supported by our sponsors The BRIT Trust.

It was a fun packed morning with visits to all parts of the School. HRH observed a ballet class, joined a stu‐dent recording a song in our recording studio, asked ques ons of our set design and make up students and watched a rehearsal with our Community Arts Prac ce students who were collabora ng with Age UK during which she joked ‘I think I will be joining you soon’. She also talked to both students and parents in our SEN department and was fascinated by the art students new window displays of flying birds. She even found

me to high five a music student in the canteen.

Starting in April this experimental printmaking course is suitable for all levels, beginners to advanced. Guided by printmaker, painter and current BRIT School Visual Arts and Design teacher Sam Marshall you will be introduced to a broad   printmaking processes including mono‐printing, lino cut, drypoint and  collagraph.  

For the beginner it will demystify the process of print and for the more experienced it will be an opportunity to broaden your visual vocabulary, material knowledge and portfolio. Venue : Working Men’s College, 44 Crowndale Road, London NW1 ITR (3 minutes from Mornington Crescent tube) Time: Thursdays 18:00 ‐ 21:00  Start Date: 18th April 2013    Fees: £169 for each 10 week term Course code : PrintIntro 03C  

For further information please contact Sam Marshall on samm_cabbage@yahoo.co.uk

Printmaking Introduction at WMC the Camden College

Our much loved but slightly worn HUT has recently undergone a bit of a facelift.  It now sports some colourful and eyecatching designer artwork thanks to a one day street art workshop.  As part of the BRIT School’s outreach projects we invited a number of non‐BRIT School students aged between  11 to 14 years old to attend a free one day street art workshop here at the School.    The project gave the students the opportunity to work with our faculty and BRIT students from Technical Theatre, Visual Art and Design and Creative Design and Technology.  We had participants from Darrick Wood School, Fairlawn School, Forest Hill School, Prendergast Hilly Fields College, Kingsdale Foundation School,  Virgo Fidelis  Convent Senior School, Thomas Tallis and Abbey Manor. Last year’s project saw artists from 30 different schools get involved.  We were delighted to have  artist Daniel Doherty who ran through a skills technique workshop and assisted participants creating designs before starting to paint the building.   Comments from some of those involved.. ‘Just wanted to thank you for organising the Street Art workshop over Easter. I was amazed at how much yourself, Daniel and all the kids managed to get done in a day in the freezing cold.   The feedback from all three of them has been very positive, on the way back to Lewisham on the bus Liam was talking about going back the next day to finish, and Alfie has started to consider the possibility of applying to The BRIT School! Even if he doesn't apply, the fact that he now sees this as a possibility is a positive.  Please keep us in mind if any other Arts projects arise.  Many thanks and all the best.’ John Paridjania from Abbey Manor College  

Hi , My son Solomon, who attended your workshop  wanted me to let you know he had a brilliant time helping to paint the Hut. We both thought it looked amazing. Thanks for the opportunity for Sol to see The BRIT School too and hear about life there. He real‐ly has been inspired.  All the best Lynn Appleby 

The visit culminated in a rehearsal of Pippin where HRH ad‐mired musical theatre students performing in the School’s im‐pressive new theatre which opened in January this year. A er the rehearsal a commemora ve plaque marking the Duchess’s visit swung jaun ly down from the ceiling and a cast member presented her with a basket of flowers. The Duchess had clearly enjoyed seeing the School in ac on and finished off her thank you speech by saying ‘I go to a lot of places but have never seen anything quite like this’. It was a privilege to welcome her.

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall talks to Shay Barclay, Year 13 Dance student

Ge ng to grips with the state‐of‐the‐art technology in the edit suite

Sharing a joke with a cast member from Pippin

Unveiling a plaque to commemorate the visit

Photographs by Ollie Dolling. Year 13 Technical Theatre Arts

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April 2013

April 2013

From le : Alfie Hinde, Husnara Mansoor (Maths Teacher) and Izzy Tovey

Well, one mountain at least. On October 19th, Year 12 Mu‐sical Theatre student Catriona Malbaski will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanza‐nia. At approx. 19,341 feet, Kilimanjaro is the highest free standing mountain in Afri‐ca and was designated one of the seven natural wonders of Africa, which were offi‐cially declared on 11 February 2013 in Arusha, Tanzania. Catriona will be a emp ng this climb in aid of Childreach Interna onal. This charity is

working towards providing educa on for children in Tanzania. Please visit www.childreach.org.uk for further informa on about the work of the charity and the Kilimanjaro project Catriona has already raised £800 towards the £2450 she needs to make the climb. If you would like to contribute towards her climb please contact Mr Rowan Griffiths The BRIT School Head of Physical Educa on on rgriffiths@brit.croydon.sch.uk or contact Catriona on cmkma‐rie@hotmail.co.uk

Performance by Dance strand students from The BRIT School

Suspended in Motion Dance show at The Ashcroft Theatre, Fairfield Halls. Performance on Tuesday 7 May 2013 at 7.30pm Tickets £10/£5.  For tickets information please contact boxoffice@fairfield.co.uk or call 020 8688 9291  A vibrant, colourful showcase performance by the Post 16 Dance strand, with performance and choreographic works including Contemporary, Musical Theatre, tap, classical ballet, jazz, a West Side Story solo and student choreography.  The show will also feature dynamic and technical work from  U.Dance, Khronos and Ferus dance companies.  This will be a wonderful evening of dance entertainment and we would be delighted if you were able to join us at the Ashcroft theatre.  

Hi there, my name is Alfie, and I am 15 and in Year 10 studying Com‐puter Design Technology. I took part in the UKMS Maths Challenge, which is a na onal maths challenge, a bit like a test, I did it because I was good at maths so I gave it a try. At first I thought I would not do well but I found out I got highest in year 10 so I was very surprised and happy, so thanks to my tutor and maths teacher.

The UKMT Challenge is a na onal mathema cs compe on run, annually, by Leeds University. Our key stage 4 students took part in the Intermediate Challenge which is aimed at 14 ‐ 16 year olds. The UKMT Challenge is a chance for able young mathema cians to take part in a na onal compe on and be rewarded for their achievements in mathema cs. We are delighted to announce that the following students ob‐tained Bronze cer ficates in this year's challenge: From year 11: Izzy Tovey, Alex Clarke and Maria Osuchowska From year 10: Alfie Hinde and Joe Arksey In addi on Izzy Tovey was awarded the best in school and best in year 11 cer ficates and Alfie Hinde was awarded the best in year 10 cer ficate Izzy Tovey. Year 11AMs. Theatre Strand I am a Year 11 student at The BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology, studying Theatre. Apart from theatre, maths is one of my favourite subjects. I like the way maths makes sense. 1 + 1 always = 2. In other subjects, like English, there can be a thousand answers to a ques on, but in maths there can only ever be one right answer. The Maths chal‐lenge was an excellent way to let students show off their maths skills and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. The challenge itself was based on a set of mul ple choice ques ons, where you gained marks for each correct answer, but were deducted marks for any wrong answer. Alfie Hind. 10HMn. Crea ve Design & Technology

BRIT fm will once again be hitting the airwaves during the summer and we are delighted that this year, we will be working with St Christopher’s Hospice and Harris Hospice.  

The project, entitled ‘Lifetime Show’ has already started and is being run by Jon Preston,  BDC teacher and BRIT fm guru.  The group, known as the ‘lifetime allstars’ are currently do‐ing a 6 week pilot radio training course, run by Jon Preston.  The course will give the group the chance to get familiar with the workings of a professional radio station before the  show is aired live.  Friends and family of those taking part will also be coming along to watch and if you would like to see the end results of all the hard work, please tune in to www.britfm.org on Thursday 2 May at 11.15am.  The show will be a varied mix of live broadcast and pre recorded work  including poetry writ‐ten by some of the staff and residents at both St Chris‐topher’s and Harris hospices. 

From left: Jon Preston BRIT School BDC tutor, Val Barry and Joseph Francis from St Christopher’s Hospice 

New on-line booking system You can now book tickets for shows in the new BRIT Theatre or the Obie Theatre using our on-line booking system. Just go to boxoffice.brit.croydon.sch.uk