Music and Drama
Music plays an important part in the life of the school, with many pupils stepping into the rhythm from their very first day.
There is a popular choir which rehearses one lunchtime very week. There are no auditions - interested pupils can just turn up. The choir performs at a number of special occasions during the school year, including concerts in school and in Chester Cathedral for the end of term services.
Pupils who have had orchestral instrument lessons for at least two terms can join the school orchestra. Music is specially written for the pupils, and all abilities are catered for. We play all kinds of music from TV themes and music from the movies to classical.
All pupils learn to play the descant recorder in year one as part of their music lessons.
Pupils often bring their musical instruments to school to accompany hymns in morning assembly.
Junior concerts, theatrical productions, daily assemblies and end of term cathedral services are all opportunities for children to perform and shine. Theatrical high points of the school year, for parents and children alike, are the J2 play in the Lent term and the J4 pupils in the Summer term. The junior school plays are renowned for their polish and professionalism. From the summer of 2011, pupils will present their productions in the outstanding surroundings of the school's newly built Vanbrugh Theatre. Our young thespians also compete in Chester’s Festival of Speech and Drama, hosted by the school, regularly winning top accolades. Pupils may also choose to rehearse for Trinity Guildhall performance exams with a visiting professional theatre director.
"Archibald's War" - a 2011 production by J4 pupils
The King's School Junior School's J4s wowed the audience with their production of Kane and Kane's 'Archibald's War' in July as part of the opening programme of the new Vanbrugh Theatre. Sixty nine pupils made their debut in the new Vanbrugh Theatre as they portrayed the life of evacuees in 1939.
The audience were taken into the homes of the families, travelled with the evacuees on their train journey from Euston to Cheshire as well as watching them 'Dig for Victory' down on the farm. Pupils worked extremely hard to produce a spectacular performance. The children played to a full house on both nights and the curtain fell to tumultuous applause.
The production which was directed by teacher Mrs Vanessa Gibson in collaboration with Musical Director Mrs Barbara Roberts, coincided with the celebrations marking the 100th Anniversary of The King's Junior School.
"The Snow Queen" - a 2011 production by J2 pupils
Ice maidens steal the show - View an album of photos.
A sparkling performance by Jasmine Denton led a glittering performance of The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen.
Directed by Miss Jan Anderson with the assistance of Mrs Nicola Tomlinson, the pupils of J2 dazzled the audience with an adaptation of this classic tale following the journey of brave Gerda (Alchemy Lucas) in search of her bewitched brother Kai (Joe Webb).
The scheming Flower Witch was played by Ailsa Black, the newly-wed royal couple, Prince Crispin and Princess Christina, were brought to life by Daniel Sharratt and Emily Haughton.William Moore was the wise Wizard of Finland. A comic interlude was provided by the entertaining Crow family of Jake Wundke, Aylish Maclean and Paddy Barlow.
Every member of J2 has a speaking role in the play, a highlight of the school calendar. Spectacular costumes were provided by parents.
Musical direction was provided by Mrs Barbara Roberts, the set was designed by Miss Kirsty Savage and Mr Haydn Duncalf led the backstage crew.
"The Wizard of Oz" - a 2010 production by J2 pupils
Thoughts on "A Midsummer Night's Dream" - a 2010 production by J4 pupils
"The face paint kept smudging because I was sweating so much" Ben Aveyard
"Stepping out on the stage for the first time was really scary but exciting. I was one of the leaders of the lines of fairies and I was really scared that I would come out too late or even too early." Connie McClelland
"The most exciting part of the play was just before it started and we were getting all of our make-up on – we all looked awesome" Connie McClelland
"The most annoying part was at the end when I knew that I was restricted to bowing and that I couldn't run on stage and start waving madly!" Harry Li
"It was exciting for me because I got to say the first line in the whole play." Matthew Thompson
"When the audience first reacted to a joke, I thought , this is going to be fun, and the round of applause was outstandingly amazing!" Jordan Basford
"Playing Puck meant that I had to sing a song in front of the audience." Niamh Jones
"Working with the whole year group has really brought us together." Niamh Jones
"Playing Mustardseed meant that I had to act really insect-like and sing some songs and speak loudly!" Erika Ignata
"Working with the whole year group has been really good because I had no idea how good Isobel Larken is at acting. I also think the experience has been really character building for us all." Rose Lindley
"I have learned that being an actor takes days of practice" Oliver Jackson
"The funniest part was when my little brother couldn't see me on stage and my mum had to hold his head at a strange angle to allow him to see me!" Matilda Kilner
"The backstage was so dark that I ran in to a wall!" William Jones
"I have learned that acting means you need to really get into the character and that acting is in your head, and that you can't just move your body, you need to really be the character." Rose Lindley
"Working with the whole year group has been a good experience because you can really see how good everyone is at acting." Zac Soutter
"I have learned that if I put my mind to it, I can act and I can use particular qualities to make my part good." Daniel Verity
"At the finale I was very relieved that I hadn't forgotten my lines and that everything went according to plan." Daniel Verity
"My favourite part was the play within the play. Jake and Max performed well to make the audience laugh especially loud." Daniel Verity
"This experience has completely boosted my confidence." Charlie Plews
"At the very beginning of the play when I was behind the curtain and I could hear the murmuring of the audience as they settled down, I felt nervous. I saw the house lights turn off and the play lights come up, you could just about see some of the colours. Then the buzzing came up and we set off from behind the curtain. I knew thy couldn't see me when we first set off but then my shoe squeaked from underneath me a nd I could feel all the audience's eyes on me as I twisted and turned." Rachel Huber