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Celebrating connections: Bromley High School’s first arts festival

5 minute read
Bromley High School recently hosted its inaugural Celebration of Arts Festival - a vibrant showcase of music, drama, dance, and visual arts that united students, staff, and the local community. The event embodied the school’s Artsmark vision and highlighted the transformative power of creative connections both internally and externally.

Earlier this year, Bromley High School hosted their first-ever Celebration of Arts Festival. This vibrant event brought together their school community to revel in the power of artistic expression. We hear from Alexandria Kasza-Martin-Hicks, Junior School English Lead and Class Teacher.

The Celebration of Arts Festival was a powerful example of building deeper connections within and beyond the school.

The Celebration of Arts Festival provided students across all year groups with a platform to perform, exhibit and collaborate. This involved not just final performances, but extensive cross-curricular collaboration in the months leading up to the event. 

The event has been key to building student confidence in skills ranging from rock music to poetry, dance and collaborative creation, genuinely validating their artistic development as they took ownership of a major public event. 

The festival was the ultimate expression of our Artsmark vision, and its success in inviting the wider community into our school to celebrate the girls’ passions with over 600 people attending, demonstrated the arts’ power to strengthen school-community cohesion.

Students in school uniforms working together outdoors to build a large geometric structure made of bamboo sticks and connectors, with a school building in the background.

The big day

Festival-goers were treated to a diverse range of captivating performances. The air was filled with music from three dynamic rock bands and the harmonious voices of our Chamber Choir. We were also thrilled to feature a dedicated music stage where talented soloists demonstrated their individual musical prowess. The agility and strength of NRG Acro left audiences in awe, while our Senior Drama group transported us around the world with their engaging performances from Around the World in 80 Days. The stage also lit up with innovative, student-choreographed dance performances, demonstrating the incredible creativity and dedication of our dancers. For those who appreciate the spoken word, an elocution stage and poets’ corner provided platforms for eloquent readings and heartfelt verses.

Beyond the stage, the festival offered a wealth of interactive arts activities. Our tranquil nature nook invited attendees to participate in Happa Zama, a calming and creative experience. The Student Arts Council spearheaded a fantastic collaborative canvas project, where everyone contributed to a large artwork inspired by our school motto. The event also proudly featured our Summer Exhibition, a stunning display of gorgeous artwork and Design & Technology projects from students across all year groups, truly showcasing the breadth of artistic talent at Bromley High School. One Junior School parent said:

It was just so nice to see the Bromley High School girls in action in all the various areas of the arts.

Art exhibition in a school hall displaying colorful student artwork on panels, including paintings, drawings, and mixed media pieces, with visitors observing the displays.

Attendees also had the opportunity to take home unique festival merchandise, including a fun colour-your-own tote bag and a special publication titled A Little Book of Powerful Voices. This distinctive book showcases examples of art and creative writing from across the school, serving as a wonderful memento of the day’s celebrations. Custom festival-branded cupcakes also added a sweet touch to the festivities!

Fostering partnerships

Beyond the festival, Artsmark has been a fantastic framework to help us think strategically and ambitiously about our arts provision and reach. It has directly led us to:

  • provide the impetus and structure to initiate entirely new, valuable partnerships, such as the regular visits to the local care home and the public artwork display
  • identify and formalise areas where the arts could enrich our existing school initiatives, such as expanding the ‘Shine’ program beyond STEM
  • create a clear mandate for arts leadership within the school, empowering staff to pursue and sustain high-quality collaborations that directly serve our students and connect us more deeply with our local community
  • validate the arts as a core driver for developing crucial skills like empathy, confidence and collaborative problem-solving which has opened the door for broader collaboration across subjects and with external partners

Ultimately, Artsmark gave us the confidence and mandate to execute a large-scale event and use The Celebration of Arts Festival as a strategic goal. It served as a powerful showcase to develop future collaborations within the community, demonstrating our capacity and commitment to the arts.

Did this blog inspire you? Register for Artsmark here > 

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