Contact Information

Ms S Bohannon on bohannons@denbigh.net	Mrs L Lewis on lewisl2@denbigh.net
Mrs L Clegg on cleggl@denbigh.net	Mr M Stroud on stroudm@denbigh.net
Mr M Jackson on jacksonm@denbigh.net	Miss C O’Rourke on orourkec@denbigh.net
Miss E Tattam on tattame@denbigh.net	Mr D Wilkie on wilkied@denbigh.net
Mr M Stroud on stroudm@denbigh.net

Faculty Information

The Creative Arts Faculty is a hive of energy and imagination, and our committed team of staff offer inclusive opportunities for all students to engage in creative pursuits both inside and outside of lessons.

We are fortunate to have exceptional facilities. We have three open-plan art rooms complete with storage and a kiln. We also have a purpose-built ‘Meeting Hall’ which is split into two spaces, with a moveable partition. We use both spaces as drama classrooms, with a range of impressive audio-visual equipment and storage space. We have two music classrooms, one of which includes bi-fold doors leading to an outdoor performance space, ‘the amphitheatre’ where audiences can watch our break time concerts. We also have a dedicated Music Technology room with a suite of computers with digital audio workstations. We have an instrument storage space and three music practice rooms primarily used by peripatetic teachers during the school day.

We feel very strongly that our extra-curricular opportunities should be inclusive and are there for all members of our Denbigh community, regardless of whether they have opted to study Creative Arts subjects at examination level. We regularly refresh our offers and encourage students to set up their own clubs and rehearsals. A few examples of our regular clubs are Musical Theatre, Art, Band Development, Orchestra, and an A-Capella singing group.

The faculty also presents larger productions. Our students have performed ‘Matilda the Musical’ by special commission and license from the Royal Shakespeare Company, entered the Shakespeare Schools Festival performing ‘Julius Caesar’; performed a sell-out production of ‘We Will Rock You’ complete with live band; put on a production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, and performed an intimate thrust version of the play, ‘DNA’ by Dennis Kelly.

The Creative Arts Faculty at Denbigh is a bustling environment where you will find students rehearsing and working outside of classroom hours regularly and you will find staff committed to realising students’ potential in their creative endeavours.

Art

Art is all around you. From the moment you pick up your smartphone and see a wallpaper image on your screen of a decorative pattern, a character design, a painting by a famous artist, a photograph you have taken, you are bombarded with the formal elements of art. The wallpaper (or coloured paint) on the walls, the statue in the front room, the poster on the side of the bus. Prevalent throughout history, Art is seen in ways many people cannot imagine. Cultures use mud to create masks; artists paint a gigantic apple squeezed into a tiny room; an everyday soup can, or bottle of coke can be called Art.

Students who study Fine Art at Denbigh follow the AQA A-Level Art and Design – Fine Art specification.  The first project based on the Built Environment, is a way to develop a higher appreciation, understanding and exploration of drawing, media, technique and material use. This development and refinement of key skills is then taken into a personal project that is an investigation into a theme of your choice.  Previous examples have included horror, the body, nature and architecture, the music of the 60s, comics, the female figure, pain, and rap to name but a few.  In class you are supported to look at different artists, styles of art and ways of presenting your chosen theme, exploring what you think creative presentation really is.  The process of creating art, the reflection on and refinement of work remains paramount throughout.  There is an expectation that you come to the art rooms during some of your free sessions each week to continue development of coursework. 

Music

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. The high-quality music education at Denbigh engages and inspires pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.

Students who study Music will follow Edexcel A-Level Music and will explore six areas of study including – Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, Music for Film, Popular Music and Jazz, Fusions, and New Directions. For each area of study, students will investigate three sets of music.

Music Technology

Music Technology is the study of creating music using technology.  This subject explores music production software and equipment, musical styles, the history and development of technology and the principles and practices of Music Technology.  Modern music and media rely on the effective use of Music Technology which makes the subject both exciting and rewarding to study.

Our students follow the Edexcel A-Level Music Technology course which covers a broad range of knowledge and skills and is the perfect steppingstone for students who wish to continue to study Music Technology into further education.

Theatre Studies

Theatre Studies lessons at Denbigh encourage creativity, imagination and teaches Drama as a discreet body of knowledge, in addition to acknowledging its wide range of transferable skills. The three key areas of learning in Drama are performing script, devising drama, and evaluating and analysing others’ performances.

Students follow AQA A-Level Drama and Theatre Students and will develop an understanding of effective communication for an audience in terms of physical and vocal acting skills. The students will explore different styles of theatre from physical theatre, melodrama, epic theatre, naturalism and develop performance skills to suit these styles. Students will perform scripts in particular styles and then devise their own drama, inspired by a range of stimuli, and use style and theatre practitioners to develop their work. Students will also have to evaluate one another’s work verbally and develop the necessary skills to write extended analytical reviews of professional live theatre.

Schemes of Learning

Each faculty has developed a two-year Scheme of Learning for each subject. The Schemes of Learning outline the curriculum journey that students will embark on during each academic year.

Art

Drama

Music

Music Tech

Faculty Assessment and Feedback Policy

Please find a copy of the Faculty Assessment and Feedback policy below. Teachers in the faculty subject areas will follow this policy when assessing students learning and providing feedback.