During the week before half term, the College was buzzing with the sounds of drumming, poetic soundscapes, music and drama for ArtsFest 2018. Students, staff and parents were entertained by a colourful programme that included workshops, installations, screenings, and live performances. The expressive arts are flourishing at Wellington and this week we have seen why. Artsfest has captured the energy, the variety and the diversity that the Arts bring to College life.

The week started in style with a brilliant display of beatboxing and drumming during Monday’s assembly, and finished on Friday night with a Festival of Musical Theatre, in which the Eagle House and Wellington communities came together to celebrate and remember the life of Charlie Perry.

It was a week of many highlights: on Monday, Performance poet, Antosh Wojcik worked with Third Form English and Art students to create a soundscape of Wellington. What began with a linguistic response to sounds in inspiring places around the College, culminated in a wicker installation, which now stands as a permanent feature outside the Sebastian Faulks Building – an imaginative fusion of sculpture and poetry.  Dance was celebrated with a number of events, including a screening of Young Men by ‘Balletboyz’ and, on Wednesday, the Wellington Concert Orchestra joined forces with the Concert Band for a wonderful performance of ‘Music from the Movies’.

On Friday night, the whole community came together for The Charlie Perry Festival of Musical Theatre.  Packed full of show-stoppers from some of Charlie’s favourite musicals – ‘Les Mis’, ‘Joseph’, ‘Anything Goes’ to name but a few – and woven together with memories, film footage, and brilliant solo performances, this was wonderful celebration of a life that was lived to the full. Eagle House brought great energy to the stage with their numbers from ‘School of Rock’, featuring a guest appearance from 13-year-old blues rock guitarist, Toby Lee, and we enjoyed a sneak preview of ‘West Side Story’ from the Wellington cast who performed ‘Maria’ and ‘America’ with great spirit.

Julian Thomas commented, ‘Charlie Perry gave so much to the performing arts during his time at Eagle House and Wellington; Friday’s concert was a special and a moving tribute to a much-loved member of our community. It gave me great pride to see Wellingtonians and Old Wellingtonians joining performers from Eagle House to celebrate Charlie’s life – in doing so, they celebrated the incredible power of the performing arts to bring a community together. Well done and thank you to everyone involved.’