Specialist Performing Arts
Specialist Arts Staff:
Mr. N J Power – Head of Performing Arts and BTEC
Mrs. C Hill – Head of Music
Miss. C Longworth – Head of Drama
Miss. C Gower – Teacher of Film & Media/Head of Progress – Year 11
Miss A. Kilmartin – Head of Dance/Teacher of Health and Social Care
Mr. N. McMinn – Media & Performing Arts Technician/Apple Network Manager
About the Arts
The Arts department is built up from a collaboration of specialist subjects, these being: Dance, Performing Arts, Drama, Music, Film, Media and Art. All the staff teaching these subjects have real industry experience in these areas and continue to work in these areas outside of school hours.
Facilities
All our subjects are delivered in specially designed classrooms. We have:
- A dance studio with a sprung floor and a industry standard mirror wall;
- A large theatre equipped with a professional lighting rig, tiered seating and a “Gallery”, otherwise known as the tech booth where the sound and lights can be controlled from;
- A music room that is fully equipped with iMacs, guitars, keyboards and even a baby grand piano, there are also a few small practice rooms;
- An Apple Mac Suite – here students can learn to use tools such as: Photoshop, Final Cut and Live Type; all subjects can use our state of the art TV studio to film projects using our Green Screen.
There’s the art & design workshops used for Technology subjects.
At Millfield, students currently follow the Pearson Edexcel Art and Design GCSE specification
What you will be learning
Art and Design equips students with the skills to enjoy, produce and engage with the visual arts throughout their lives, and it has immense value as a GCSE subject. GCSE Art and Design provides the opportunity for students to:
Explore both contemporary and historical sources of art, craft and design first hand through, for example:
Visiting museums, galleries, art shows and fairs
Experiencing audio-visual productions, including still and moving imagery
Their surroundings and environments.
Take an individual approach to their art, craft and design making
Develop the skill of selecting their best and most appropriate work for presentation
Controlled assessment
There is a single controlled assessment at the end of the course which will last ten hours spread over two days. This follows a period of approximately 20 guided preparation hours. The test is internally assessed and then moderated externally.
What happens when you are finished?
Typically students who wish to pursue an arts based career wil go on to study A level art at sixth form. This could ultimately lead to a university course in publishing, design (interior / Exterior / Architectural / Theatre or TV) advertising, media work or game design along with others too numerous to mention here.
Course Overviews
Extra curricular activities
Drama – Opportunity to be involved in which school productions
Dance – Annual Dance Show plus performances at the Winter Gardens and Preston Guild Hall.
Music – We host a range of shows where our students can showcase their musical talent – for example, in November, we hold an evening called, Btec show case evening. Towards the end of the academic year we host the final show of the year, The Big Gig.
Millfield Band – Open to all young musicians of any standard, and meets every Monday. The faculty is constantly looking for interesting projects with visiting artists. Consequently, other opportunities will be available throughout the work of the year.
