Students at Carisbrooke enjoyed a fantastic morning at our Brass ‘taster session’ workshop on Monday with Martyn Stroud (Brass teacher from Wight Music Tuition). The students had an opportunity to learn about the Brass family and play some of the Trumpets, French Horns and Trombones that Mr Stroud had brought with him, even putting together a short performance at the end.

If your child would like to sign up for Brass lessons, Mr Stroud is offering group lessons (in pairs) for £80 a term; as we are already halfway through this term, this means there would be £40 to pay for November to December. There is also the option of paying in monthly instalments, if this is something you would prefer, to help spread the cost of the lessons. Lessons will take place during school hours.

If you would like to sign up for these lessons please email beth.peckham@iwef.org.uk to register your interest, you will also need to complete an application form on the Wight Music Tuition website https://iwmt.org.uk/apply-online/, indicating which instrument and selecting ’20 minute in-person group lessons’. You do not need to select ‘yes’ for hiring an instrument as Mr Stroud can arrange this for you once lessons have started.

An important part of our Literacy Strategy is to ensure that Key Stage 3 students are equipped with the key literacy skills required and the belief that they can succeed at GCSE level. In order to achieve this we aim to remove as many taboos about Literacy as early as possible and make it seem less daunting to year 7 students as well as building their confidence with regards to school and their own abilities.

Last week we took a small group of year 7 students and immersed them into the Shakespeare text, The Tempest. Initially, students were worried about not being able to understand the words and the writing but by approaching the text through The Arts, the students soon became comfortable with the ideas and themes within the plot.

These year 7 students worked with local artist Glenn Martin, and English teacher, Mrs Smith to access this tricky text. Through drama, music and art the students were plunged into the Elizabethan text and encouraged to think about the characters and how they felt.

By visiting the beach the students were able to experience the atmosphere of the sea and understand and appreciate its power. They were able to imagine that they too were castaways washed up on the sand and how frightening that might have been. The beach also allowed the students to create some fantastic art works and to act out sections of the text. When visiting the forest they were able to feel nature and talked about the language that could be used to describe the environment. They depicted key scenes from the text by creating boxes inspired by Joseph Cornell. The created and coloured maps of Shakespeare’s unnamed island marking out places that key scenes were set.

Back at school, students used their beach experience to compose a musical response with Mrs Peckham and performed Act 1 Scene 1 with Mr Lyle to gain further appreciation of the text.

This project allowed students to break down any preconceived notions they may have had relating to Shakespeare. Students ended the week by producing an exhibition for parents on Friday afternoon.

Thanks to Miss Begley for driving the minibus and Ms Ryan for supporting throughout the week. A big thank you to the Creative Arts Faculty for their assistance and unending positivity. 

A group of KS3 students from both Carisbrooke and Medina Colleges had the privilege of attending Shakespeare’s Globe in London last week to watch a production of The Tempest which forms part of their English Literature studies.

The in-house Globe Ensemble of actors created an amusing, visually inventive, and fun take on Shakespeare’s final play. Students were entertained by the costuming of characters who were dressed in modern garb rather than more traditional attire. Students were amused by Caliban’s call and response routine at the end of the first half; Prospero’s scheming brother Antonio and his inner-circle’s “feast that wasn’t”; the Stephano, Trinculo and Caliban “washing-line” scene (the “washing line” having been turned into washed ashore lost Amazon packages) to name a few.

Visiting Shakespeare’s Globe adds to the impact of the play and allows students to truly feel immersed in the theatre environment.

Attending as Groundlings (an audience who stands in front of the stage) for the production also helped students further understand the context of Shakespeare’s time and experience the play as he intended. Watching a Shakespeare play on stage allows the students to gain a better understanding of the themes and character development within the text and this helps them to develop their comprehension of the play.

Despite some transport difficulties, it was a lovely, sunny day and was enjoyed by all!