News from English

October 25, 2024/in English /by Presdales School

Poetry with Imtiaz Dharker

On Friday 8th November, Presdales and Chauncy School students will be collaborating with Ware Poets in an amazing opportunity to meet one of Britain’s leading poets, Imtiaz Dharker. She has won the Queen’s Gold Medal for poetry, been featured on Desert Island Discs and her work is on the National Curriculum. That same evening, Imtiaz will also be performing at Ware Southern Maltings in an event that’s open to everyone. The first half of the evening is a friendly open mic session and young people are especially welcome to read their poems. Tickets are free to under 19s, otherwise £6. Please see https://southernmaltings.co.uk/events/an-evening-with-imtiaz-dharker/ for more information.

News from Maths

October 25, 2024/in Maths /by Presdales School

News from Drama

October 23, 2024/in Drama, Events /by Presdales School

Presdales School Musical – Bugsy Malone

Year 7 and 8 Sign Up – Well Done to all that have signed up in Years 7 and 8, you will receive an invitation to a google classroom page where the rehearsal schedule will be posted. Please check this for your rehearsal dates as you will not be required every rehearsal.

Year 9 Auditions – Monday 4th November – 3.35-5pm in the School Hall

Good preparation for auditions would be to watch ‘Bugsy Malone’ which is available on ITV+ and consider which of the following you would like to audition for.

Dancing and Choral Singing – Boxers. Listen to the song, ‘So You Wanna Be a Boxer’ and come ready to sing and follow some simple choreography on the day.
Speaking Part – We have a number of small speaking parts and we will provide extracts on the day.
Silent Comedic Roles – When you watch the film take note of the reaction to the Splurge guns as you will be performing this at the audition.

Any questions, please speak with Miss Mack or Mrs Hardiman in Drama.

Thank you to the Schools Parent Association for awarding Drama with funding to upgrade our lighting equipment in the Drama Studio this year! We are very grateful for your generosity, all students studying Drama will benefit from this improved provision! Thank you to all the parents who support the PA at school events, it does make a real positive impact on our students.

Miss Mack

Head of Drama

Drama Theatre Trip

On Friday 11th October, all Year 10 and Year 11 GCSE Drama students went to New Wimbledon Theatre to see a production of ‘Come From Away’! The production takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships. The students were really impressed with the production and thought the multi-rolling of characters played by a small cast was very cleverly done. The production celebrates the good in humankind and did feel very uplifting and inspiring, leaving some of our students in tears at the end. Students were lucky to meet many cast members as our coach was right by the stage door and some even hopped aboard to speak to us! The students were absolutely exemplary and very patient with the long coach journey’s, thank your for making the trip an enjoyable experience for all. A special thanks to Mr Soltysik and Miss Lee for helping to escort the students safely.

Miss Mack and Mrs Hardiman Drama Department

A Level Drama and Theatre Studies

On Monday 21st October, Year 12 A Level Drama and Theatre students performed to our Year 10 GCSE class as part of their first performance assessment for a Devised Drama Mock exam. The students production was inspired by a script extract from ‘Girls Like That’ by Evan Placey, the students then created their own performance that did have a clear education focus of online safety. The performance was also inspired by their learning of Splendid Theatre style and Frantic Assembly physical Theatre style that they have been taught in class workshops with their teachers.

Post performance the A Level led a Q&A session to gain feedback for their written coursework portfolio that they will finalise post performance.

Thank you to Year 10 who gave very insightful feedback to the class, we hope you enjoyed the performance.

Miss Mack and Mrs Hardiman Drama Department

What is on locally

Sparx Maths

October 4, 2024/in Maths /by Presdales School

News from Drama

September 20, 2024/in Drama /by Presdales School

School Production – BUGSY MALONE

We launched the start of Bugsy Malone rehearsals this week, well done to all the first called characters to stage especially our lead actor Chloe Evans playing Bugsy Malone, she arrived off script and reading looking like a true professional!

Choreographers

We would love to hear from dancers who could help with choreography on the school production this year. We would like to allocate some show numbers to student choreographers to direct. If you would like to get involved please get into contact with Miss Mack.

BEAM

Miss Mack will be touring the new Performance space, BEAM in Hertford next week and meeting to discuss opportunities in the local area.

BEAM have also created a promo code to share with any students who may be interested in seeing the production ‘Black is the color of my Voice’ ahead of Black History Month. The promo code will give students tickets for £10 per person. The code to use is STUDENT10BV

Sparx Maths

September 20, 2024/in Maths /by Presdales School

Sparx News

July 19, 2024/in Maths /by Presdales School

Year 9 Battlefields Trip 2024

July 19, 2024/in History, Trips & Visits /by Presdales School

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: Reviewed by Lucy White

: Reviewed by Constantina Nichola

“I enjoyed going to the underground tunnels and I thought it was interesting to go and see all the different parts.”

“On the Battlefields trip, I liked that I was able to visualise the numbers that I have heard in lessons. It made everything about world war one feel more real, and like less of a story. Overall, the trip has been amazing and has changed my view of the war.”

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: Reviewed by Lucy White

: Reviewed by Constantina Nichola

“The trip was very interesting and didn’t have a single dull moment. It was the perfect mix of tourism activities and history activities. I really enjoyed the caves and tunnels that the soldiers used in WW1 and it was very interesting to see how they lived.”

“I really enjoyed going in the tunnels. It was really interesting as it made it more real than just statistics. I learnt a lot and it was very impactful. It was an amazing trip.”

“I really enjoyed going underground into the tunnels and visiting so many different places.”

“I liked laying the wreath: it was a huge honour to represent my school with something that important. I also liked the caves as it conveyed how the soldiers in the army weren’t just a statistic and were real people.”

“I really enjoyed seeing the trenches and walking inside of them.”

“I like that we saw things we wouldn’t usually see without this trip, like the caves and trenches.”

“I enjoyed seeing the trenches and going to visit the different memorial sites.”

“I really liked the tunnels and getting to see the trenches/battlefields it was really interesting.”

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: Reviewed by Lucy White

: Reviewed by Constantina Nichola

“I really appreciated visiting the cemeteries, as seeing the loss of human life from WW1 in this way and not as a statistic has really opened my eyes to how many were affected.”

“The trip was fun and I learnt a lot. I really enjoyed the tunnels as I’d never seen anything like it so I found it very interesting. I loved how we had time to wander around to explore the town.”

“I enjoyed the trip because it was very interesting to look and learn more about the world war and see how it affected everyday life. I enjoyed looking at all the remains from the war such as the tunnels.”

“I really enjoyed seeing the old trenches and walking through the caves. It was very interesting and helped improve my understanding of WW1. I also enjoyed spending time with my friends walking around the streets of Ypres. Overall a very good trip.”

“- it really put all the numbers and statistics that we have learnt over the year into perspective when we saw all the graves. -hearing all of the stories about the soldiers. -getting to find my friends and family members at the memorials.”

“I really liked going to the trenches and in the caves, it was really interesting and it was really nice finding one of my relatives on the plaques. I liked walking around town with my friends and the place we stayed was really fun. The teachers were all really nice and looked after us really well.”