Music

Thinking back to my own school days when the choir was put together annually, just in time for the Christmas Concert, and the weekly school band rehearsals doubled as an instrumental lesson, I am continually impressed by the standards of excellence achieved by our students and the level of commitment they give to the Arts, week in and week out throughout the year.

Music as a subject extends well beyond the classroom at Fairfield as our extra curricular groups continue to promote the school both within the local community and beyond. During the last twelve months our students have worked with musicians specialising in Latin American music, Banghra, Samba and musical composition.

Highlights over the past few years have included performances in St. Mark's Basilica, Venice and at The Tongling Bronze Festival, China, where our students performed live to an audience of between 20,000 and 30,000 people. The confidence displayed by our students at this particular event is something I will never forget and is, in itself, testimony to the way in which the arts affect the development of people who are willing to work as part of a team.

We also celebrate our continued success in external examinations. At GCSE level, 93% of the students in our year I I group last year achieved A* - C grades. Practical examinations with The Associated Board of The Royal Schools of Music continue to gain 100% pass rate and it is noticeable that our students are now taking and passing the higher level examinations. Several of our students will be attending workshops with The National Youth Orchestra later this year, while others accepted places with The Halle Youth Choir following successful auditions.

In the near future we will be taking part in 'Step Up', a 10 day Arts Festival hosted by The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. Equally, working with Sefton Arts College, we will be performing on stage at The Bridgewater Hall in July.

Fairfield High School is now a Specialist Arts College due, in no small part, to those pupils who have given so much of their time and energy to the work of the Performing Arts Department. As they continue to work with a dedicated group of teachers, we can only move forward. We have many fine ambassadors for Fairfield within the pupils that can be seen performing on stage at any of our events. They display a tremendous sense of self-discipline and confidence, qualities which will stay with them throughout their lives; qualities they have worked hard to acquire.

Janet Whittingham Director of Arts