King Edward’s School in Bath has been shortlisted for its performing arts programme in the inaugural Independent Schools of the Year 2018 awards, organised by the Independent School Parent Magazine. Hundreds of schools from across the country entered the awards, which seek to highlight the quality of pupil experience in Independent Schools.
The school’s music department provides around 50 performance opportunities each year and approximately 450 instrumental or vocal lessons take place each week, alongside 28 different ensembles gathering to rehearse. In addition, its vocal partnership with Bath Abbey continues to thrive, with KES providing the largest proportion of boy choristers to the Abbey.
The school’s unique side-by-side partnership with Bath Philharmonia is now in its fifth year and provides unrivalled opportunities for our instrumental musicians. The annual Gala Concert, which sees KES musicians perform alongside the professional orchestra, is the undoubted highlight of the musical year, with the year-long partnership programme also including workshops, masterclasses and mentoring programmes designed to develop, stretch and inspire our musicians. As part of this partnership, 2016 BBC Young Musician of the Year finalist, saxophonist, Jess Gillam visited KES earlier this year to undertake a series of workshops and masterclasses with KES musicians as well as outreach events with local Bath primary schools.
KES production of POP! , one of the school’s most ambitious drama projects
KES’s flourishing LAMDA programme, led by Dani Tamblyn and Petra Schofield, has quadrupled in size since launch and in the 2017-2018 exams 69% of KES LAMDA students received a Distinction for their Acting Exam and 31% gained a Merit. Over the summer, the school made its second excursion to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to perform Hansel and Gretel and later this month its Junior School takes to the stage at the egg theatre, Bath to perform Romeo & Juliet, as part of the world’s largest youth drama festival organised by the Shakespeare Schools Foundation.