Prior Park highlights students work in Winter Arts Showcase

By Leah Pou

Prior Park School recently hosted its annual Winter Arts Showcase, featuring a wide range of musical performances, displays of student art and photography, and the opportunity to try out computer games created by the school’s Computer Science students.

Throughout the evening, the audience enjoyed a range of musical performances, including a clarinet version of ‘Hallelujah’, alongside vocal renditions of ‘O Holy Night’ and ‘Somebody You Loved.’ There was also a preview of the school’s upcoming production of Grease, with a performance of the much-loved song ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You’.

The showcase featured students from across the school, from Year 7 pupils performing for the first time to older students who have taken part in Prior Park productions for many years. Across the performances, there was a clear sense of excitement and a willingness to push beyond comfort zones. One student, Arjun Jani, reflected on this, saying he “loves performing and it is a great opportunity to get out of my comfort zone”.

The Winter Arts Showcase was not just representative of the students, their talent and dedication but it also signified the importance of the arts.

Head of the Creative and Performing Arts Faculty at Prior Park, Liam Worth spoke about this in his opening speech.

“As a creative, the importance of the arts can seem obvious, but how do we make it important to others,” he said.

He described how they influence everyday life.

“They’re effectively what we turn to after a long hard day at work, it’s what we watch to unwind, listen to when we are happy or sad,” he said.

“They influence the holidays we book, the devices we buy, the clothes we wear and even the car we dream of owning”.

The Winter Arts Showcase, showed how the arts can bring people together and reinforce the value of the arts as an integral part of school life.

Prior Park’s Head Paul Martyn congratulated the students and staff involved for the hard work that went into bringing the showcase to life. He also acknowledged the efforts behind the scenes, which can often go unnoticed, describing what was seen on stage as “the tip of the iceberg”.

All of this hard work has helped to create a strong sense of community among the students involved. One student, Elise Andlaw, spoke about how much she valued this.
“I really like being part of a community,” she said.

“We’re all in it together and we’re really supportive of each other.”

This sense of support was evident both on and off the stage, as students congratulated one another after their performances and showed pride for what their friends and peers had done.