Information for Prospective Parents

Welcome to the section of the ArtsEd website which is directed specifically at the parents or carers of prospective students. I am delighted that you are considering our school and I hope that you will find the information below useful and informative. Please note that there are active links (below) which will lead you to relevant sections of our (recently updated) website.

It is always useful to be aware of the particular ideals which the school has striven to maintain and develop over its ninety year history. Our founders, Grace Cone and Olive Ripman, wanted to create a learning environment where a sound academic education was combined with specialist training in the lively arts (primarily in dance, drama and music). You can read more about the history of the school here. Click here.

Much of the school’s success has sprung from the delicate and complementary balance between a fully grounded academic education on the one hand and the study of the creative arts on the other. We are not a stage school or an institution whose primary interest is in training specifically for the world of performing arts. Instead, we take a holistic approach towards a child’s school curriculum (and its delivery) and we intend our students to have a broad range of career options open to them when they leave the school. I hope that you will read carefully the school’s aims as well as our ethos and consider whether the plans you have for the young person in question are compatible with our aims at ArtsEd. 

I have worked at ArtsEd for a number of years and I have an intimate awareness of its unique quality. For one thing, there exists no other institution in the country where one could start in year 7 and study all the way through to a Masters degree! ArtsEd is composed of four schools: the Pupils’ school, the school of Musical Theatre, the School of Acting for Film and Television and the Part Time School. The principal of the four schools is Jane Harrison and there is a Board of Directors, overseeing the whole organisation. You can read more about members of the Board here. 

We ask a huge amount of our students and we want them to achieve at a demanding standard in a number of different areas. We are aware that a number of our students are passionate about the performing arts and, in order that our students have an immersive experience in this area, our school day tends to be longer than most. The school curriculum varies in years 7 to 11, according to each student’s chosen area of specialism (Dance or Acting) as well as the student’s additional academic options (for years 10 and 11). In the Sixth Form the curriculum varies considerably according to whether the student is doing the 4-A Level course or the BTEC. You can read an in-depth description of our curriculum offer here.

From this document you can see how busy a day at ArtsEd can be. In spite of this, our students are sometimes reluctant to leave the building at the end of the day - as they want to revise, practise, perfect, design or seek additional help from staff. The students do provide the building with a buzz and energy, which is especially pronounced when they are preparing for one of the major performance events of the year, such as the Dance Show or the Music Concert. 

The selection criteria for our school may appear complex but – I hope you will agree – are clearly outlined in our Admissions Policy. I strongly suggest that you take time to read this document as it addresses the different elements which constitute the admissions process. If a young person wants to enter the school to begin in year 7 or year 12 they should attend one of our ‘audition days’. If they want to join one of the other year groups they should attend a ‘taster day’. The different requirements of each are clearly outlined in this policy.
ADMISSIONS POLICY

I have already mentioned that we are very proud of our academic tradition and of the results we obtain in public exams. We do expect all of our students to maximise their potential and we have a combination of small class sizes and highly motivated but caring staff, whose goal is to enable each young person to achieve as highly as possible. To learn more about last year’s record-breaking results please read our analysis of examination results by following this link.

We know that parents are very often interested in the specific policies which describe in detail the way that the school operates. There are a number of pastoral policies which deal with student welfare as well as with rewards and sanctions. ArtsEd is a particularly caring school environment, due partly to our small size (just under 200 pupils) and due also to the excellent relationships between teachers and students. We consider the happiness and well- being of our students to be of fundamental importance and we are always concerned if any student seems to be unhappy or underachieving for any reason. We communicate with parents/carers frequently, sharing with them the relevant child’s successes in the classroom as well as areas of development that are needed. You can follow the links, below, to certain pastoral policies:

Behaviour Rewards and Sanctions
Anti-Bullying
Cyber Bullying Policy
Child Protection Policy

A significant percentage of our students have a learning difficulty or disability (LDD), the most common being dyslexia. These students are able to access levels of support from our special needs co-ordinator, both in and out of the classroom. The admissions policy addresses the extent to which we can support special needs in the audition process. Our detailed policy on Special Educational Needs and Disability Access (SENDA) is available from our school secretary on request. Please send her an email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).

There is a significant amount of information to which you may have access but which is not on our website. For example, if you wish to be aware of our policy on the assessment of risks for educational visits or you wish to peruse details of our staff (with their qualifications) then you should access this information via the email address above.

Finally, should anything we do fail to meet your expectations for some reason please contact either the school secretary or myself and we will be happy to discuss your concerns. Additionally, there is a formal process of making a complaint and this is outlined in our Complaints Policy, which you can access by following this link. Students and parents tend to be very happy about the education we offer with only one formal complaint being received this term.

I very much look forwards to meeting you (as well as the young person in question) at one of our Open Evenings or during a tour of the school. Please take time to explore all of the information on the website and do contact us if you have any further questions. 

Many thanks

Greg Beavis
Headteacher
November 2010