School Musicals
Musicals are a vibrant and much-anticipated part of the school year at both Newminster and Chantry Middle Schools. Each year, students and staff come together to produce a full-scale musical performance, celebrating the talents and creativity of our school community. Recent productions have included ‘The Lion King’, ‘Matilda the Musical’, ‘Fame’ and this year’s exciting choice, ‘Aladdin’.
The musical selection process is a collaborative effort, with both staff and students voting from a shortlist of shows. This ensures a sense of shared ownership and excitement around each year’s production. Once the musical is chosen, a dedicated team of staff members consisting of a director, musical director, acting coach and a choreographer (a local dance teacher brought in specially) work together to guide and support the pupils through the rehearsal and performance process.
Our musicals are truly a whole-school effort. Costumes, props and sets are designed and created by students from across both schools. In particular, the set is a key project for our Year 8 Bronze Arts Award students, who design and build it as part of their qualification. We also benefit from a valuable partnership with KEVI (The King Edward VI School), where Mr Hughes and his tech crew support our students in learning backstage and technical theatre skills. Many of these students go on to become part of the KEVI tech team when they move on to high school.
Rehearsals take place weekly, with additional full-day and dress rehearsals scheduled in the lead-up to the performances. These productions offer students much more than just performance experience. They provide opportunities to build confidence, form new friendships, develop teamwork and leadership skills and experience the excitement and reward of live theatre.
