New Music Tech Suite & Art Resources
Tim Harkins
/ Categories: News
Our Thanks to the Wolfson Foundation
We are delighted to announce the opening next week of the new Shoreham Academy music suite as well as some additional computer resources for use in our Art department which has been predominantly funded through a very generous grant from the Wolfson Foundation.
We are looking forward to our students being able to use these exciting new facilities in their music and art lessons. In Music we now have completely new computers and studio designed for music recording, production, editing and sharing. This includes new specialist keyboards and Cubase and Sibelius software which will enable our young people to improve their performances and give them the ability to then go on and digitally produce and master their own music. We are confident our students’ experience in these subjects will be greatly enhanced by this investment in their education and that it will lead to improved outcomes and an increased uptake in numbers of students choosing to take music as an option for GCSE and A-Level.
“As a result of the generous grant from the Wolfson Foundation, our students are now able to utilise professional software in their music lessons. Students now have access to a wide variety of instruments on the music software for compositional and music production purposes and the new keyboards produce realistic piano sounds, allowing pupils greater flexibility in their performances. The headphones are of studio level quality, facilitating a more engaged listening experience. The studio is now fully equipped with a range of professional software and virtual instruments. As a result of this investment, students will enjoy a far more effective compositional and keyboard experience”. Sion Parry, Director of Performing Arts
The Wolfson Foundation (www.wolfson.org.uk) is an independent charity that supports and promotes excellence in the fields of science, health, education and the arts and humanities.
Since it was established in 1955, over £900 million (£1.9 billion in real terms) has been awarded to more than 11,000 projects throughout the UK, all on the basis of expert review. www.wolfson.org.uk
As part of the grant from the Wolfson Foundation we were also able to increase the resources we have available to support our outstanding Art department. Students frequently use computers in Art to access both Adobe software and to support their contextual understanding of the wider world of arts. Many students do not have regular access to both internet and digital manipulation packages at home so this investment is vital in allowing our students to have the access to the resources they need to be successful.
“The specification for both GCSE and A-Level Art requires students to create art work using a wide range of processes and media, including digital media. The opportunity to do this thoroughly engages all learners and contributes to increased attainment. In our ever changing, fast paced society, where visual communication is key, we have a moral obligation and need the opportunity to educate all students to use technology safely, immediately and provide a greater culture understanding of the world they will grow up in. This investment from the Wolfson foundation will be of huge benefit to our young artists at all ages”. Suzi Butler, Assistant Principal
“The Wolfson Foundation is a charity that funds schools across the UK that are doing outstanding work and need specialist equipment. We were very impressed by Shoreham Academy, and share their vision of a rich curriculum – and not least supporting creative elements of the curriculum with the necessary equipment. On a personal note, I very much enjoyed meeting staff and pupils (and indeed the library dog) when I visited”. Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive, Wolfson Foundation
“Unlike many schools locally and nationally, we are determined not to reduce the breadth of our curriculum and quality of student experience and are committed to deliver a broad range of subject options. I believe that all young people should have the chance to access a full range of subjects including the performing arts, technology, sports and fine art as a fundamental entitlement of their education. They can then choose at GCSE and again at A-Level the subjects, which excite and inspire them alongside the more traditional academic subjects of our offer. To be able to maintain the curriculum offer in the current financial climate has become more challenging year on year but we are committed to providing specialist teaching from the start of secondary education in these curriculum areas. We are very grateful to the Wolfson Foundation for their investment in our young people as part of their support for the arts in education among many of the other worthy causes they provide support for”. Jim Coupe, Principal