Highgate Senior offers extensive opportunities in art, music and drama, through academic study and our co-curricular programme.
MUSIC
Highgate’s musical life is lively and varied with our Music department teaching pupils from Year 7 to 13, with the option to study at GCSE and A Level.
All pupils are encouraged to participate in co-curricular musical activities beyond the classroom – from the whole school House Vocal Competition, singing in one of the choirs, playing pop, rock or jazz or classical and chamber music in an orchestra or ensemble.
We have over 50 performance opportunities across the school year, with something for everyone to enjoy.
MUSIC ACTIVITIES
MUSIC TUITION
Individual music lessons and instrument hire are available with specialist tuition in a wide range of instruments and styles, as well as vocal training. A full list can be found in the Music brochure above.
For music lesson prices please see our School Fees.
MUSIC SCHOLARSHIPS
We offer Music Scholarships, Exhibitions and Music Potential Awards, which can provide free tuition in one or two instruments or voice, and/or a remission of a percentage of school fees.
Awards are open to applicants at 11+ and 16+ and are decided following auditions and interviews. Candidates must also satisfy the academic requirements for a place at Highgate before they are considered for an award.
Interested candidates should indicate on their online Admissions application form (11+ and 16+ only) that they wish to be considered for a music award.
DRAMA
Drama is an important part of the school’s academic and co-curricular programme. We have a fully equipped drama studio and stage three productions a year; the annual House Drama competition involves pupils across the school and every other year we put on a musical at a professional theatre and take Sixth Form students to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Recent school productions have included: Anything Goes, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Around the World in Eighty Days, Legally Blonde, Dido and Aeneas, Jane Eyre and Love’s Labour’s Lost. Older pupils are also given opportunities to write and perform their own plays, including in national competitions.
Being part of a school production, whether on stage or behind the scenes, gives pupils the chance to form new friendships and experience a sense of achievement as they work towards a shared goal. Alumni often say how these experiences formed some of their happiest school memories.
ART
Our fully equipped Mills Centre for Art and Design on Bishopswood Road provides facilities and studios for painting, printmaking, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, photography and filmmaking, with all equipment and materials provided. Studios are open later from 4pm-6pm for pupils to make and create work in their own time, and the Kyffin Williams Gallery is a space for pupils to exhibit work in progress and showcase their final GCSE and A Level exam submissions.
Beyond the classroom, pupils can take part in several art-based clubs and societies every week, ranging from drawing to pottery classes.