Avon Valley Welcomes Talented Year 7 Students School admits 10 % of new intake based on performing aptitude and potential
On Monday 4 th September The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College welcomed its students back following the summer break . Amongst the students coming through the school ’ s gates were 220 Year 7 students arriving for their first day at secondary school - however for 22 of these new students the admission process was slightly different . For the first time in the school ’ s history a number of students were added to the school ’ s roll based on their aptitude , or potential talent , in the performing arts which includes dance , music and drama . This facility exists as part of the legislation surrounding school specialism and was voted for by the school ’ s governors in December 2015 following a consultation period . To gain a place through the performing arts specialism parents completed the admissions paperwork , before their child was invited to attend a workshop and audition in their specialist performing discipline . Alison Davies , Headteacher , said , “ As a school we are lucky to have wonderful performing arts facilities , staff who are dedicated to the arts , a proud history of successful productions and a curriculum which allows all students to enjoy and experience music , drama and dance . It therefore seemed logical that we should be able to welcome students who will benefit in these subject areas .” Miss Davies added “ Attending the audition was a good experience for each student and we were very impressed with their talent and maturity . We have an exciting school show planned for December and it has been great to see a number of these young Year 7 students getting involved in what will be their first production .”
Avon Valley Students Get a Taste of Europe
School celebrates language and cultural diversity
To mark European Day of Languages students at The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College have been finding out about the importance of learning other languages and have had opportunity to try cuisines from other cultures .
This year the European Day of Languages , which is jointly organised by the Council of Europe and the European Union , is on Tuesday 26 September . The annual event successfully involves millions of people across 45 participating countries and aims to celebrate linguistic diversity and promote language learning .
During the entire week , in addition to their French , Spanish and German lessons , students will learn about the day and what it means to learn a new language . The MFL faculty have shared language based resources with other subject areas . The school ’ s canteen is also supporting the event by serving up dishes from other European nations .
Suzy Benvenuto , MFL Faculty Leader , says “ At The Avon Valley School every student has the opportunity to discover a new language , and many of our students do very well and achieve great results in MFL . The activities we run during the week are fun , but they also highlight the importance of being able to communicate with people from other countries .”
Alison Davies , Headteacher , said , “ Many adults say that they would like to learn a foreign language , and in truth there is no better time to start learning than when you ’ re at school . Also , as a school we have students , and staff , from all over the world and the European Day of Languages is a wonderful chance to learn more about other cultures .”