issue 11 - robert smyth academy

Newsletter Date Performing Arts

Newsletter ELEVENTH

May 2016

Issue 11

Burnmill Road

Market Harborough

Leicestershire

LE16 7JG

T: 01858 440770

F: 01858 440771

E: [email protected]

W: www.rsacademy.co.uk

ROBERT SMYTH

ACADEMY

Contributors Mrs Petersen

Mrs Routledge

Mr Hughes

Mrs Parsons

Keith Allott

Shannon Bedford

Layout Mr Wells

Editor Mr Atkins

“If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem

so wonderful at all.” - Michelangelo Students in the faculty will know exactly what Michelangelo was talking about because

they have been putting the finishing touches to their wonderful compositions,

performances, devised pieces, recordings and choreography for GCSE, AS and A2 level

work. There’s been an incredible creative buzz around the faculty as students have

been completing outstanding pieces of work that some have been working on for 9

months. A massive thank you to all Performing Arts teaching staff for helping students

realise their creativity this past term.

Amongst all of this hard work there has been the usual array of concerts, competitions,

performances inside and outside of the academy, showcases and successes that you

will read about within the pages of our crammed eleventh newsletter.

We are lucky at Robert Smyth that we have a leadership team who fully support both

curricular and extra-curricular activities in the creative arts. Other schools however, are

not so fortunate. You may be aware of the government’s determination to push through

legislation which means that schools will also now be graded on results in just the

Ebacc subjects, as well as attainment and Progress 8 measures. The creative subjects

are not included in the Ebacc list and therefore creative subjects are at risk in our

schools. The Ebacc measure will again be debated in parliament on 4th July 2016, so

please write to your local MP to ensure he gets involved in keeping creative subjects in

our schools. Please visit www.baccforthefuture.com for more information.

It’s also the end of an era for this Performing Arts Newsletter. Our proud sponsors

‘The deal Marketing Company’ will no longer be sponsoring this newsletter and the

faculty from the end of this academic year. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank

Mr and Mrs Campbell and everyone at ‘The Ideal Marketing Company’ for their kind

sponsorship and help throughout the three years they have sponsored us. We are

therefore on the look-out for a new sponsor to help ensure this newsletter can be

printed every term. If any company is interested or would like to know more about

sponsoring us, then please email me directly on [email protected] I look

forward to hearing from you.

Jess wins ‘Young Person of

the Year’ award

Year 10 drama student, Jess O’Brien, has been

making films for a few years and you can read

about her latest success at BAFTA in this

newsletter. Last month however saw Jess nominat-

ed by local filmmaker, Keith Allott, for Leicester’s

Lord Lieutenant’s award. Jess had already won the

category for ‘Young Artist of the Year’ after her film

‘Coping’ reduced the judging panel to tears, but she

was then named as the overall winner as ‘Young

Person of the Year’! A fantastic and well deserved

achievement. Well done, Jess!

mailto:[email protected]


Performing Arts Newsletter ELEVENTH EDITION 2016

Gold for the Big Band in Nationals Mr and Mrs Nicholson, parents of Year 13 drummer Jonny Nicholson, came as parent helpers on the Big Band trip

to the NCBF in the Easter holidays. Mr Nicholson has written this article about the event. We are very grateful for

his contribution to this newsletter and hope more parents will be encouraged to come on trips and write articles for

future newsletters:

Young people and teachers: both seem to get a bad press these days.

So, early one Saturday morning, I began to wonder how I’d managed

to allow myself to volunteer, as a parent helper, for a school trip.

Surely there are better ways to spend the first full day of a weekend,

especially one still in the school Easter holidays. And what was the

teacher thinking? Could this be more important than a well-earned

rest before term got underway again?

The National Concert Band Festival (NCBF) has been running for over 30 years and has grown to

include 120 bands representing 5,000 players, who all start their journey in five Regional Festivals in

England and Scotland. From there the best bands go forward to the two-day National Festival with al-

most 2,500 participants and 1,000 supporters in attendance – the

largest gathering of wind musicians in the UK. The Robert Smyth Academy

Big Band had reached the 2016 final at the Royal Northern College of

Music in Manchester through the Midlands qualifying Festival in

November last year. With such stiff competition from more than 20

schools on the Saturday alone, how would the 17 young musicians fare?

After the three-hour coach journey the band had time to settle in, grab

some food and get set up in their practice room. Mind you, snaking our

way along corridors, up and down stairs, across food halls with

instruments aloft, somehow the line got broken and the two halves of the

band ended up in different places! But this band had spirit, grit,

determination and high expectations. Directed by the able Helle Petersen,

they soon settled into their stride as they worked through their three

numbers ahead of their main stage appearance in the early afternoon.

In jazz music, so I learnt, the rhythm section is particularly important, providing the rhythmic reference

for the rest of the band. So, no pressure then for Taylor Burton on keyboard, Jacob Bentley on bass,

Jake Cartwright on electric guitar and Lyle Burton and Jonny Nicholson on drums / percussion. The

question was how well they ably accompanied the rest of the instrumentalists – with their trumpets,

saxophones, trombones and flutes. What made the Festival different this year was the way feedback

was provided. After their performances before an

appreciative audience, one of the two

adjudicators, both distinguished personalities

from the world of jazz, got onto the stage. He

provided what can only be described as a

masterclass, getting the band to re-run one of

their numbers and highlighting areas for

improvement. At times it bordered on the cruel,

but this Festival was about people moving to the

top of their musical game, so standards were

high. By late afternoon the drama moved to the

presentation of awards on the Upper Concourse where hordes of students gathered to hear their fate.

It was with a mixture of relief and delight that Taylor Burton and Jacob Cartwright collected the Gold

Award on behalf of The Robert Smyth Academy Big Band. Throughout the day the students were a

credit to their school, their teacher and their parents. They are clearly a talented bunch who will go on

to greater things in the field of music – whether as a hobby, to study or a career. If you are a parent

reading this, then I’d highly recommend you take time out of your busy schedule to go as a parent

helper on any one of the many academy music trips run from the school. You won’t be disappointed.

Mr Nicholson


Lord of the Flies On Thursday 11th February the AS and A2 drama classes went en masse to the Curve Theatre,

Leicester to see William Golding's classic (adapted for the stage by Nigel Williams) Lord of the

Flie’s. Produced by Regent Park Theatre Company, this show has been touring since 2015 to sell out

audiences in theatres across the country. This was truly an impressive production with a strong male

cast and superb design elements. The show featured parts of a plane, violence and real fire. A really

impressive performance that gives our AS and A2 classes LOTS to write about for their Live Theatre

Review exam in May.

Spring Concert 2016 On Wednesday 23rd March we staged our annual Spring Concert to a packed hall. The concert

featured A level Music soloists as well all the academy ensembles: String

Ensemble, Brass Ensemble, Year 10-12 Flute Ensemble, Year 13 Flute

Quartet, Saxophone Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Versatile Voices

Choir, Folk Group, Big Band, Jazz Band and Soul Patrol. In addition year 13

violinist Emily Newlyn gave a mesmerizing performance from memory of

Josef Suk’s ‘Appassionato’ from ‘Four Pieces for Violin and Piano, Opus

17’. Our other 6th form soloist was year 12 vocalist Ellie Boxall, who

performed a cover of Adele’s ‘When We Were Young’ very

convincingly accompanied by rhythm section and strings in an arrangement

by AS Music student Madeleine Oakland.

In the second half the Versatile Voices Choir put on a memorable

performance of the traditional spiritual ‘Steel Away’, arranged by Mark

De-Lisser, featuring year 11 GCSE Music students Amirah Bobat, Lola Pap

and Bronwen Herman as soloists. At the end of the second half Soul Patrol

showcased three of their new and original songs written for the Music for

Youth Festival recently.

GCSE Dance Moderation Well done to all year 11 GCSE dance students for performing in their practical moderation on Monday

April 18th. All students performed work to a visiting AQA moderator and she was very pleased with the

standard of work being shown.

Some really outstanding results were achieved…..now onto the written paper!!!


Piano Workshop with a Concert Pianist

Richard Meyrick, an internationally acclaimed virtuoso pianist, visited Robert Smyth Academy on

Wednesday 23rd February to give a two hour piano workshop to a group of GCSE and A level music

students. Richard studied at the Royal College of

Music and made his concert debut at the

Wigmore Hall while still a student. This was

followed by a live televised performance of

Brahms’ Piano Concerto No.2 conducted by Sir

Adrian Boult. Throughout his career he has

given many concerts with leading orchestras

throughout the world and also recorded

Beethoven’s five Piano Concerti and the

complete Chopin Nocturnes.

This piano workshop was part of a national

programme entitled Pianoman set up in 2004 to

encourage and nurture talented young pianists.

The programme, sponsored by Sir Harvey and Lady Allison McGrath, has enabled

Richard to visit over 400 schools in the UK over the past 12 years. This is the fifth time since 2004

that Robert Smyth has been lucky enough to benefit from one of Richard’s workshops.

Five pianists from years 10 to 13 performed in the workshop with many more GCSE and A level music

students watching. At the start Richard gave an impressive performance on the piano and then each

of the five players performed a short piece, with difficulty ranging from Grade V to VIII. After

each performance Richard gave feedback to the student pianist, providing advice on a range of

playing techniques.

Richard also posed challenging questions to the students about their interpretations of the music and

how they should approach playing every piece. He helped both those performing and those watching

to see that it is important to consider why the composer wrote the music in a certain way, why it’s im-

portant to remain faithful to the composer’s instructions and intentions whilst still showing your own

personal interpretation of the music. Richard gave the students invaluable advice and help which

made it an inspiring and unforgettable experience for everyone involved.

A-Level Musicians Put On Public Recital

On Monday 9th May three of the eighteen students studying A level Music at RSA gave a lunchtime

recital open to the general public at the Methodist Church in Northampton Road. The three

performers were: Emily Newlyn (violin), Joe Horspool

(trombone), and Georgia Whittle (soprano) accompanied by

our peripatetic piano teacher Nicholas Scott-Burt.

Emily and Joe both performed their full A level recital

programme, lasting 12-15 minutes and consisting of four

contrasting pieces with a theme. Emily’s violin recital

focused on music by Eastern European composers whilst

Joe’s trombone recital featured Romantic music. Vocalist

Georgia Whittle had already recorded her A level recital at the

academy the previous month, the theme of which was

musical theatre songs through time, so she performed just

the final song from her recital. The recital constitutes the

performance coursework element of the A level music course

and counts for 30% of the A2 year and 15% of the overall A

level. All three students performed exceptionally well and to a

very high standard reaching the top A*/A grade band for the A level performance unit. The concert

was very well attended by family, friends, students, staff, governors as well as people from the

general public.


GCSE Concert VIII The Max staging was up in its familiar pattern, the chairs were all laid out, the lighting was simple yet

effective and the sound equipment was all working to begin with; it could only mean one thing. The

second GCSE Music Concert of the year was about to happen and, oh boy, was it eventful!

We had 21 different acts performing on the evening and we crammed it all in to under two hours!

The quality of the performances, as always, was superb and we had styles ranging from Britpop, and

acoustic, to musical songs, jazzy flute pieces to Cello concertos.

Notable stand out performances were:

Mae Dudley was on top form producing two stunning vocal performances.

Adam Pugh also delivered another tenor masterclass by blasting out a Billy Joel classic

accompanied by our very own Mrs Petersen.

Sejal Assan once again wowed everyone with a lovely flute piece.

We had two class performances from the same year 10 AQA class. The class was split in half

with one half performing ‘Don’t look back in anger’ and the other half performing ‘Wonderwall’

giving the evening an Oasis sandwich as one group started the concert and the other group

ended it. Considering we gave them only ten days to get this together, it was a really great

performance.

Lola Pap, Bronwen Herdman and Amirah Bobat all produced their usual high standard of

exquisite vocal solos.

Bronwen and Lola even teamed up

with Daryanne Scott to produce a

superb three part harmony

performance of ‘Wherever you will go’,

much to the crowd’s delight!

Daryanne performed ‘Fast Car’

accompanied by Charles Witcombe,

and it was a great interpretation of the

classic by Tracy Chapman.

Z o e B a t e s

performed her very

first public solo performance on her flute.

Lachlan Lindsay left the crowd wanting more after Mrs Petersen had finally

persuaded him to perform a ‘cello solo in a GCSE Concert. Lachlan’s touch, into-

nation, use of vibrato and allround excellent musicianship was on display as he

played an ‘Andantino’ movement from a Romantic period ‘cello Concerto,

accompanied by his mother, Jane Parker.

The night was full of technical faults, which we’ve never had on such a scale in

over twelve years of doing concerts at Robert Smyth, so unfortunately some acts

weren’t quite as confident as they could have been, as mics, amps and cables

all broke seemingly at random. But that’s the nature of the GCSE Music Concert

and live music in general; it does and can happen like that at times, but our

students coped with it all admirably and with professionalism.

Of Mice & Men On Friday 4th March, AS and A2 students took a trip to the Nottingham Theatre Royal to watch the

play Of Mice and Men. The actors who played George and Lenny were absolutely mesmerising and

the use of live music contributed to the tension and narrative of the play. The set design was

particularly impressive, with a large crack across the stage representing the river and the cracks in

Lenny's mental state. The addition of an adorable dog on stage helped engage our students.


Where is Shannon now? Ex-student Shannon Bedford has sent us this update on what she’s been up to since finishing her A

levels at RSA in 2010:

In 2010 I was lucky enough to be accepted onto the

Vocal Performance Higher Diploma Course at The

Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford. I packed

my bags and headed down but in all honesty I had no

idea what was awaiting me. I was very nervous, wasn’t

sure if people would like me, nor if I was actually any

good at this singing thing. So on my first day I told

myself to “man up” and make the 45-minute walk into

Guildford for my first lecture. As the year progressed I

made some lifetime friends in fellow students and

lecturers and learnt so much about vocal performance,

health and technique. Then my first exam came. I forgot

all my scales and cried in my exam because although I was finally feeling confident in myself, I’d

forgotten it all under pressure. I was thinking about giving it all up, but I didn’t. I thought “Shannon,

you are here for a reason, and you would not have got through the audition process if ACM didn’t

think there was some potential in you”. I then took it upon myself to practise for at least five hours a

day, studying sight reading, theory, vocal technique, performance and learning repertoire.

At the end of my Higher Diploma Course I left with a Distinction in my final exam and a Merit for the

course over all. I also left with the “Most Outstanding Vocalist” Award. With this Merit I successfully

gained a place on the two year vocal degree course. This was a huge step up from the higher diploma

with exams every three weeks in vocal performance and theory and I had also got myself a Saturday

job teaching four students. On the degree we looked into music business, theory, technique and

performance in much more detail. Half way through the degree I ended up with three full days of

teaching. Having 30 students a week and writing a dissertation and a specialised project, with a few

backing vocal gigs scattered here and there, was a lot of work. My dissertation was about “Tool,

Techniques and Temperament of a Backing Vocalist” and for this I had to interview some of the

industry’s top backing vocalists and session fixers. I’d also successfully auditioned for the ACM

Gospel Choir; some of these vocalists are at the top of the game in the session industry working with

Jess Glynn, Seal and Peter Andre. The choir themselves were the runners-up in the 2008 BBC 1 TV

series ‘Last Choir Standing’, which then led onto numbers of artist sessions and TV appearances, not

to mention the choir for ‘Coronation Street The Musical’. With ACMGC I have worked with Mavrick

Sabre at The O2 Arena, performed at The Olympics and Paralympics, The Natural History Museum,

and The Royal Albert Hall working with the likes of Jimmy Carr and Billy Connolly. In 2013 I had the

privilege of doing Backing Vocals for Pixie Lott at a private event, which was good fun. I learnt a lot

about how to work with an artist and it basically boils down to: don’t ask questions but just smile and

do your job, know your parts and record everything!

Since I left ACM in 2013 with my First Class Honours degree in vocal performance I have gone on to

run a successful function band call “The Beat Freaks” (check us out on Youtube!). We have played at

weddings, parties and corporate events across the country and Europe, even playing at Wembley

Stadium for the England vs Estonia game. I teach singing to 40 students a week in a number of

Wipers The final AS/A2 Drama trip took place on Friday 15th April 2016 to the Curve Theatre. This was to

see a new piece of writing by Ishy Din called ‘Wipers’. The production was based around the true sto-

ry of Asian soldier Khudadad Khan. Set in a barn, the narrative followed four soldiers coming togeth-

er in World War One to survive the night. The set was very impressive with lots of lights and sounds to

bring us into the warfare setting. Fancy tricks included live cooking of dhal on stage and cued drip-

ping water. This was a well written, naturalistic piece of theatre with some lovely comedy moments.


Soul Patrol Headlining School Games National Finals Following submission of an audition DVD of three original songs written by Year 13 students Taylor

Burton, Jake Cartwright and Georgia Whittle, Soul Patrol have been selected by the YST (Youth Sports

Trust) Factor to perform at the Closing Ceremony of the 2016 School Games National Finals. This will

take place on Sunday 4 September at 3.45 pm at Loughborough University in front of 2,500 specta-

tors. On the panel of judges were Youth Sport Trust ambassador and former Pussycat Doll Kimberly

Wyatt, Bounce from Flawless and Lizzie Gough from Alesha Dixon’s Street Stars.

The School Games National Finals brings together 1,600 of the UK's best young athletes for four days

of sporting competition. Many Olympians and Paralympians hoping to head to Rio this year have com-

peted in previous School Games including Dina Asher-Smith, Jonnie Peacock, Adam Peaty, Ellie Sim-

monds and Hannah Cockroft. The School Games National Finals are supported by a range of partners

including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Sport England, the Youth Sport Trust, Depart-

ment of Health and the British Paralympic Association.

Youth Sport Trust Director of External Relations, Phil Chamberlain, said: "The School Games National

Finals are a huge event that gives a true taste of high-level multi-sport competition to the UK's best

school-aged competitors. It has the feel of a mini-Olympic and Paralympic Games and as such the YST

Factor offers an excellent opportunity for young talented performance artists to realise their dreams

in front of a large audience.”

Many congratulations to all members of Soul Patrol on being selected to headline at this event!

schools across Surrey and Hampshire and lead two school choirs. I am

still a vocalist with The ACM Gospel Choir and love performing with them.

I am growing both the teaching and function band businesses as well as

working with different bands and vocalists all the time.

I think it is important never to stop trying to improve yourself as a

musician because as soon as you stop learning someone else who has

the drive will take the job from you. It is also important to know that if you

don’t get the job/audition then that job wasn’t the right one for you and if

you keep practising and honing your skills the right one will come along

and be better than the one you originally went for. I don’t know if I will be

doing music in 10 years’ time but I do know that I will look back and

think how lucky I was to have the opportunities given to me. From being

Jesus in the Year 4 school play, to being in competitions with school choirs, to meeting Debbie Smith,

my singing teacher for about 10 years and having the RSA music department and the RSA soul band

‘Soul Patrol’…without those stepping stones I would not be the vocalist I am today.

Shannon Bedford

Where is Shannon now? (continued)

RSA awarded ISM Bronze Music certificate RSA has been awarded the Incorporated Society of Musicians’ Bronze certificate in GCSE music in

recognition of its high percentage of students taking GCSE Music and achieving

A*-C grades in the summer of 2015. Across England, 3066 schools (including

private and state schools) entered students for GCSE Music in 2015 and RSA

were in the top 20% of these schools in that more than 10% of our entire Year

11 cohort were entered for GCSE Music and achieved an A*- C.

RSA are very proud to have been awarded this accolade. Music students at

Robert Smyth have long achieved the highest grades with over 90% A*-C pass

rate year on year. Our high uptake of more than 10% of the cohort in this subject

at GCSE, compared to the national average of 6.8 %, has enabled us to gain na-

tional recognition for this. Hundreds of students across the school are involved

in musical clubs, ensembles and concerts on a regular basis, and we look for-

ward to even more of them furthering their learning in music through taking GCSE and A Level in the

future.


Awards for Young Musicians Applications are now invited for awards of up to £2,000. AYM believe that all talented young people

deserve the chance to progress in their music making. That’s why they’re awarding up to £100,000 in

grants in 2016 to exceptional young instrumentalists aged 5-17 in need of support, as well as

receiving flexible funding towards the costs of their musical development. Award winners will benefit

from individually tailored support, which may comprise mentoring, workshops and master classes

with professional musicians, the chance to observe rehearsals with professional orchestras and other

musical partners, and performance opportunities.

For info and to apply for a 2016 Award visit http://www.a-y-m.org/how-wehelp/awards

The Odyssey On Thursday 10th March, the AS and A2 classes went to Nottingham Arts Theatre to watch Splendid

Productions version of The Odyssey. Entering the theatre, we were greeted by the three old men of

the sea, kitted out with knitted beards and walking sticks. During the pre-show they spoke with the

audience, greeted arrivals and gave out jobs. Evangeline (re-named Angel by the performers) was

given the title of Map Reader and was asked to follow the map throughout the performance. The

performance began and everyone was super impressed by the talent of the cast especially when

multi-rolling. The three women transitioned seamlessly from one role to another and everyone was

overwhelmed by Kerry Frampton's transitions, particularly that of Penelope. Joe was then called up

on stage to take part in an obstacle course. He was kitted out in googles, a sparkly shower cap and

poncho ready to take on the obstacles. The show was very funny and embedded with Brechtian

techniques. This show had it all and was a classic Splendid production.

Showcase Sixteen Well done to all dancers who were involved in the annual RSA Dance show “Showcase Sixteen”. The

evening of dance was held on Tuesday April 12th at 7pm in the Max Studio. Parents, teachers and

friends attended to support our talented students who were performing their exam pieces and

classwork. Year 10 dancers showcased their own solo and duet work and Year 11 dancers had the

opportunity to perform their practical dance pieces to a live audience before their moderation on

Monday 18th April. Arts Award students were also able to show their dance pieces while Megan

Ferguson performed a stunning solo. All dancers shone on the night so congratulations!! Check out

more photos on the RSA and Performing Arts Websites.


Piano Flute

Hannah Appleton Grade 6 Distinction Hannah Mance Grade 6 Merit

Vicky Yarnold Grade 4 Distinction Drum kit

Kim Jeffs Grade 3 Merit Matt Hicks Grade 4 Pass

Practical & Theory Grade Exam Passes

Congratulations to the following students who passed their grade exams last term. This information has been

provided by peripatetic teachers, parents and students. For inclusion in future newsletters details of exam passes can be

emailed to [email protected].

An Inspector Calls On Friday 18th March, the AS and A2 drama classes went to the Curve Theatre to see The National

Theatre's critically acclaimed production of ‘An Inspector Calls’. It was a visually spectacular

production with first class performances from all of the actors, including the young boy who featured

as a younger version of the Inspector himself. The design elements were fantastic with smoke, rain

and a moving house, all of which added to the theatricality of the show. They captured the essence of

the play beautifully with lots of references to film noir. Another great show to write about in the final

exam!

RSA Dance Company performing at Curve The Robert Smyth Academy student dance company was selected to perform at Curve Theatre as part

of U. Dance 2016 on Sunday 7th February.

There are five county platforms that present

high quality exceptional dance and the RSA

Dance Company was successful in their

audition and was chosen to perform at “Mass

Movement” in the Leicestershire and Rutland

platform. Dance4 are working in partnership

with DanceXchange and Youth Dance England

to support young people to progress in dance.

The company was thrilled to be chosen to per-

form as the selection process is very selective

with only 12 places available. The piece per-

formed was called Yan Tu – In a State of Mo-

tion and it explored movement as a

continuous state of motion, as fluid and continuous as breathing. The company dancers investigated

duet work and they assisted in devising the piece. The beautiful music was composed by the very

talented A level student Taylor Burton and really enhanced the dancers’ actions and the mood of the

piece. It was an amazing opportunity for the students to perform at Curve as it developed both

performance skills as well as confidence. Well done to Charlie Tatman, Izzy Blount, Beth Lucyszyn,

Helen Spacie, Lottie Edwards, Alice Benstead, Lydia Smith and Anna Cadwallader.

Upper Sixth Leavers’ Concert The annual Upper Sixth Leavers’ Concert will take place on Friday 20th May at 7.00 pm in The Max. It

will feature many Year 13s student performing solos, duets and group items in a range of styles from

the pop, rock, jazz and classical genres. Emily Newlyn will also be performing a movement from

Mozart’s Violin Concert No.3 with the RSA Orchestra. Soul Patrol, the RSA Big Band and Yr 13 Flute

Quartet will also feature as these groups have a lot of Year 13 members. The concert is for anyone to

come and watch. Tickets are available from Student Services and are priced at £5 adults and £3

Under 19s. They are limited to 120 so please purchase in advance to avoid disappointment.



Jess Receives National ‘INTO FILM’ Award Robert Smyth drama student Jess O’Brien has been named as one of national film organisation Into

Film’s ‘Ones to Watch 2016’ for her

excellence in film production. Jess

attended BAFTA, the Odeon Cinema in

Leicester Square and Planet Hollywood as

part of the honour given to only three

young filmmakers in the country. Into Film

is an organisation established by leading

film education charities First Light and

FILMCLUB to inspire young people aged

5-19 across the UK to learn through and

about film, working with the education

sector and film industry. The glittering

award ceremony will shine a spotlight on

the achievements of young filmmakers

from across the UK. During the March 15th awards, Jess was invited to a special careers session at BAFTA led by their

Director of Learning, Tim Hunter, after which she accepted her award at the Odeon Cinema in

Leicester Square, delivering an acceptance speech to the full house before photographs with the

celebrity presenters and interviews with news and films crews. The day concluded with an aftershow

party at Planet Hollywood. Upon receiving the award Jess said “I was speechless when I heard. A few years ago if someone had

told me I would be going to meet BAFTA executives and accept an award for filmmaking I would never

have believed them!” Jess, who also attends the Pauline Quirke Performing Arts Academy, has been

awarded in particular for the work on her film ‘Coping’. Written, acted and directed when she was

thirteen, the film features three of her friends Yasmin Allen, April Hancox and David Knight and looks

at how a young girl recovers from the death of her two best friends. After completing ‘Coping’ Jess showed great initiative by organising a premiere screening at the

Phoenix Cinema attended by 100 guests. She then entered the film into festivals across the world. To

this point, ‘Coping’ has been selected for five film festivals including the Olympia Film Festival in

Greece and the Adelaide Kids Film Festival in Australia. Talking about her passion for filmmaking Jess said, “I love to make films that make people think, that

leave them working things out and maybe even create their own

ending. The idea of stories being metaphorical interests me as it leaves

people to have their own view on what the film is about.” Jess was nominated by her film teacher at PQA and filmmaker at

Badshoes Film, Keith Allott who said, “Jess is an exceptional talent in

all areas of film. She is a gifted filmmaker and actor and

combines that with great determination and a desire to learn. She is

currently discovering film editing and showing a real flair for that too.

This is a thoroughly well-deserved award for a bright talent.” Jess has

just completed production on her latest film ‘Hinterland’ featuring

young actors Jacq Ardron and Tyler Dunnan and will be organising

another screening in Leicester later this year, “This film looks at the

consequences of people’s decisions and how we take responsibility for

them. It’s quite an experimental film and definitely something different

to ‘Coping’ but I like to challenge myself while exploring different aspects of film and trying my hand at different types of film and

genres.” Coping can be viewed online on Vimeo via the following link: https://

vimeo.com/133246319

https://vimeo.com/133246319

https://vimeo.com/133246319


Performing Arts Clubs - Spring Term 2016 Monday

GCSE DANCE DROP-IN

10.25-10.45 The Max Mrs Routledge

FLUTE QUARTET 1.00-1.30 Music Block Kate Cartwright

STRING

ENSEMBLE 1.00 – 1.30 Music Block Mike Shaw

RSA DANCE COMPANY

1.00 – 1.30 The Max Mrs Routledge

Tuesday SAX

ENSEMBLE 10.30 – 11.00 Music Block Francine Warner

COMEDY CLUB 12.45 – 1.30 Hammond Studio Chris Wells

ORCHESTRA 1.00 – 1.30 Music Block Mrs Petersen

JAZZ BAND 3.15 – 5.00 Music Block Mrs Petersen

Wednesday VERSATILE

VOICES (choir) 1.00 – 1.30 Music Block Debbie Smith

Thursday FLUTE CHOIR (Years 10 - 12)

10.30 – 11.00 Music Block Kate Cartwright

GCSE MUSIC

DROP-IN 1.00 – 1.30 Music Block Mr Hughes

BIG BAND 1.00 – 1.30 Music Block Mrs Petersen

FOLK GROUP 1.00 – 1.30 Music Block 6th form student led

Friday PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE

10.30 – 11.00 Music Block Darron McHarg

BRASS ENSEMBLE 1.00 – 1.30 Music Block John Gornall

GRADE 5 MUSIC

THEORY 1.00 – 1.30 Music Block Mrs Petersen

SOUL PATROL 3.15 – 5.00 Music Block Mrs Petersen

COMEDY CLUB 3.15 – 4.20 Hammond Studio Chris Wells

Audition/selection is only for Soul Patrol, Big Band, and The Dance Company. To join any of the other groups simply turn up at the next rehearsal.

VAT off Instruments Students who wish to purchase a new musical instrument for use with their musical studies in the

academy can take advantage of the scheme offered where the cost of purchasing the instrument will

not include VAT. Students have to purchase the instrument through the academy and a form must be completed and

signed by authorised Academy staff before purchasing the instrument. No VAT refunds can be given

retrospectively. Further details and an application form can be downloaded from the academy web-

site under ‘Parents’ -> ‘Letters home’ or contact Mrs Petersen for more details.

Burnmill Road

Market Harborough

Leicestershire

LE16 7JG

T: 01858 440770

F: 01858 440771

E: [email protected]

W: www.rsacademy.co.uk

ROBERT SMYTH

ACADEMY

Performing Arts Events Calendar 2016

SUMMER TERM

Friday 20th May – 7.00 pm

RSA Year 13 Leavers’ Concert

Venue: The Max, Robert Smyth Academy

Saturday 21st May – 7.30 pm

Trip to see Leicester Symphony Orchestra

Venue: De Montfort Hall, Leicester

Saturday 25th June

DO-GOODERY

Venue: The Max, Robert Smyth Academy

Friday 1st July to Thursday 7th July

Music Tour to Barcelona for

RSA Jazz Band, Big Band & Soul Patrol

Friday 8th July

Big Band in Music for Youth National Festival

Venue: Town Hall, Birmingham

Visit us online: http://www.rsacademy.co.uk

Our Proud Sponsors

Grants for musical instrument purchase The EMI Music Soundfoundation offer grants to students in full time education

to fund musical instrument/equipment purchase. In the past several RSA

students have been successful in applying for funding. The foundation accept

applications twice a year and the deadline for the next round is at the

beginning of September 2016. For full details of the scheme and to download

an application form please visit www.emimusicsoundfoundation.com.

Addendum In the January newsletter Emily Newlyn had written an article about the Leices-

ter Schools’ Symphony orchestra performance at the Schools’ Proms at the

Royal Albert Hall back in November 2015. We would just like to acknowledge

the names of all the RSA students who took part in this performance, as there

were four violinists: Emily Newlyn, James Hammond, Mark Shuttleworth and

Madeleine Oakland.


issue 11 - robert smyth academy

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