student playing violin

Creative Arts

All pupils have the opportunity to take part in the creative arts. From music, theatre, art to design technology and photography our aim is to ensure our pupils have the time and space to enhance their creativity.

We have the most incredible facilities at St Lawrence. Taylor Hall, our new multi-use theatre, provides the perfect venue for performances. Beyond the entrance foyer, the theatre seats an audience of up to 500 people within the main hall and balcony. Specialist stage lighting and sound equipment helps to create a professional production. The stage dominates one wall, but the building is constructed so that performances can also take place in the round. The elegant building also contains classroom space.

The traditional school Chapel is also used for more formal musical occasions, and the airy atrium of Kirby House provides an alternative venue for junior productions.

‘The Canon Perfect Centre’ opened in 2018. The new facility, with its light, spacious classrooms and state-of-the-art equipment, further underlines the school’s commitment to creativity and innovation, providing an inspiring environment to enhance pupils’ learning.

Design Technology workshops are housed on the lower ground floor, followed by two floors of Science classrooms and labs, and Art and Photography studios on the top floor, with huge sliding doors opening onto outside balconies. The building has also been designed to accommodate plenty of exhibition space for show casing pupils’ work.

Art & Photography

Art & Photography

All pupils in Years 7 to 9 study Art. Lessons cover an expansive range of recording/drawing styles and the development and realisation of ideas. We also put a strong emphasis on experimentation that encourages individuals to produce a wide assortment of outcomes and final pieces.

We teach AQA’s GCSE specification in Art and Design from Year 10 (4th Form). After this two-year course, pupils have the opportunity to do an AS in Art & Design or an AS in Photography. Photography is a separate endorsement and this was launched in September 2013, which has proved to be very popular.

Throughout all courses we support and empower students to create works that have a unique approach and which demonstrate sensitivity to their subject matter as well as a distinctive application of their materials. We encourage individuals to engage with the real world not a virtual one, to explore their own ideas in 2D & 3D and to trust what they make. This allows pupils to explore and develop their own ideas from an array of influences and gives flexibility with outcomes in terms of mediums and processes. We aim to make the Art & Design and Photography courses experiential that engage other forms of intelligence to include kinaesthetic, spatial, interpersonal (relationships with others) and intra-personal (knowledge and understanding of the self).

We run frequent trips to London galleries, location visits and full or half-day workshops. These help to support pupils in their understanding of artists and craftsmen, and provide them with extended periods of time to practice their technical skills. In recent years we have been to Stour Valley Arts, Dungeness, St Margaret’s Bay, The Spirit Collection at the Natural History Museum, The Pallant Gallery and The Cass Sculpture Foundation in Hampshire.

In the last few years, pupils graduating from St Lawrence College Art Department have gone on to study for a variety of creative careers at: LIPO – The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (Theatre and Performance Design), Chichester College (Art Foundation), University of Greenwich (Design and Construction Management), UCA (Art and Design Foundation Diploma), Camberwell Art College (Art Foundation) and Brunel (Industrial Design and Technology).

“The school clearly offers a stimulating course where students have been encouraged to develop wide ranging experimental work and ideas…”
What AQA said about A Level Art & Design and Photography at St Lawrence College

 

DT

DT

At St Lawrence College we work hard to ensure that the Design and Technology department provides a wide range of exciting opportunities for our pupils. Our facilities are second to none, with two new, well equipped workshops each with its own ICT suite and design space, meaning students can work flexibly and seamlessly between designing and manufacturing their project ideas. We work with a wide range of materials and processes, from traditional carpentry and metal working skills through to forming plastic, working in silicon, 3D printing, laser cutting and VR modelling. Students arrive with varying amounts of experience of the subject and the take-up at GCSE and A Level is high. Design projects have included furniture for contemporary homes, educational architecture, sports equipment and jewellery, so there is the opportunity for everyone to engage, develop and achieve.

Drama

Drama

The Drama Department is situated in Taylor Hall, a modern 500 seat theatre fully equipped with professional lighting and sound equipment, dressing rooms and costume storeroom.

We host a diverse and ever-evolving range of co-curricular opportunities. There are two major productions during the academic year, one from Years 7 and 8 and the other from Years 9 to 13. A very popular date in the diary is the House Drama competition which is an excellent whole-school event. More recently, Arts Fortnight has been established which entails two weeks of exciting events, competitions and performances celebrating the Arts. There are also regular, more informal opportunities to perform at the termly Theatre Thursday events, a student-led showcase of performance.

Recent productions have included School of Rock, The Canterbury Tales, Macbeth, Hairspray, The Trial, The Accrington Pals and Lady Windermere’s Fan

All students are taught Drama for one hour a week up to Year 8 as part of the curriculum. Year 9 and GCSE Drama are offered to pupils as an option subject.

Theatre trips, visiting theatre companies, workshops and a specialist Drama Scholarship programme are also offered to students throughout the academic year.

Watch Drama at SLC

Speech, Drama and Communication Qualifications (LAMDA)

LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) is one of the UK’s oldest and most respected awarding bodies. LAMDA has been offering practical examinations in communication and performance subjects for over 130 years. In this time, LAMDA’s qualifications have helped hundreds of thousands of candidates of all ages and abilities to develop lifelong skills.

LAMDA lessons and examinations at SLC

LAMDA lessons help our students to build self-esteem and further reward them with the skills that filter into all aspects of school and home life. They are particularly useful for those who want to improve their spoken English, presentation skills and general levels of self-confidence.

LAMDA’s qualifications in communication and performance inspire the next generation of confident communicators.

At SLC we offer our students the opportunity to follow the LAMDA syllabus, and prepare for examinations, from Introductory level through to Grades 6,7 and 8.

Grades 6/7 &8 carry UCAS points which are recognised by Ofqual and highly regarded in schools, Colleges and Universities

We offer lessons in:

PERFORMANCE

  • Acting
  • Devising Drama
  • Mime
  • Shakespeare

“LAMDA’S Performance Examinations use drama to develop self-confidence, physical presence and a strong speaking voice.”

COMMUNICATION

  • Speaking Verse and Prose
  • Speaking in Public
  • Reading for Performance

“LAMDA’S Communication Examinations provide the opportunity to develop a clear speaking voice, positive body language and self-confidence by exploring different uses of spoken English.”

LAMDA lessons are held weekly, term time, on a rotational timetable, similar to music lessons.

students playing violins
Music
students playing violins

Music

It is the department’s aim to develop an appreciation and understanding of Music across a range of genres and styles while encouraging as many pupils as possible to experience the joy of performing in regular concerts and events held throughout the school year.

All pupils receive class music lessons in Years 7 and 8, after which the subject can be chosen as an option in Year 9 and at GCSE and A Level. The department houses a suite of iMacs in the main classroom, a range of practice rooms and a recording studio.

Opportunities for group music-making are many and varied and include the popular annual House Singing and Battle of the Bands competitions.

Music groups include an Orchestra, two Choirs, Jazz Band, Rock Band and a number of other groups which are constantly evolving to reflect the pupils’ strengths each year.

Many pupils take individual instrumental and singing lessons, provided by a team of visiting music teachers who are all experts in their chosen field. Pupils regularly achieve Distinctions and Merits in ABRSM, Trinity and Rockschool examinations.

There are regular trips to concerts in London and the local area, giving pupils an opportunity to hear world class musicians in action. Professional musicians are also invited to the school to give workshops and masterclasses.

Music tours at home and abroad are eagerly anticipated events; most recently, Kirby Choir sang at Disneyland in Paris and one of the city’s beautiful churches.

Music scholarships based on musical ability and potential are offered at 11+, 13+ and 16+. To find out more, please contact our Registrar: admissions@slcuk.com

Click here to download our Music Booking form: Music Lesson Booking Form 2023 24

“Artists within the school have gained success in the national Art Award, reflecting the excellent artwork on display in the school.”

ISI INSPECTION REPORT 2022