L E A R N I N G S U P P O R T a n d S E N

A small but mighty department run by a popular SENCo who tests all students on arrival. ‘I have twice-weekly sessions –they’ve made all the difference,’ said a student. ‘I don’t even have the words for the SENCo –not only has she organised support in groups and one-to-ones but she has put herself between him and his teachers so they understand exactly what he needs,’ a parent told us. ‘Came into school on a Sunday once so they could walk together because she’d heard he was unhappy,’ we also heard.

T H E A R T S a n d

E X T R A C U R R I C U L A R

Great excitement in the drama department when we visited – the costumes for Frankenstein had just arrived The rails of West End-worthy getups would be enough to bring out the thespian in anyone – including, it seems, a girl whose melodramatic shrieks instinctively gave us cause for concern until we clocked that she was performing a monologue in character The 1930s Hollywood swashbuckler Basil Rathbone first trod the boards at Repton and one imagines he’d be mighty impressed by the professional-standard facilities enjoyed by students today – including a black box studio and spectacular 315-seat theatre largely run by students backstage but with professionals such as choreographers brought in when required ‘The results are spectacular,’ exclaimed a parent LAMDA, and especially public speaking, taken seriously – we watched students practising impromptu speeches for grade 8

Next stop, textiles – a veritable feast of fabrics metamorphosed into all manner of attire. All students do at least a term of textiles and there are drop-in classes for those who want to do an ‘off timetable’ GCSE. The biannual fashion show is a big deal and completely sixth-form run, from choosing the models (other students), making the outfits, marketing, music, sound, lighting and social media. The theatre is extended to include a catwalk and it plays to 500 people over two nights, raising money for, as our tour guide put it, ‘people who can’t afford their own clothes’. Around the other side is the village gallery (former shop) where students’ and visiting artists’ work is displayed for passersby.

A short walk away the art department is affectionately known as the 11th house due to the sheer amount of time students spend here (well-loved leather sofas help) Ambitious in scope, students produce everything from ceiling paintings to surrealist films – one recently made tea for 15 hours as live performance art ‘Where are the pencils?’ asked a year 9 tentatively when paper was handed out for a drawing task, but the teacher had more imaginative means in mind and by the end of the lesson they’d done everything from wiping their faces on it to wiping the floor Both A and AS level art are popular and almost all candidates get A* or A – ditto for photography and textiles In DT we observed year 10s fastidiously making metal tea light holders and a teacher patiently explaining the intricacies of a twist drill ‘Shame these subjects are only on a carousel in year 9, though,’ felt one parent – ‘means you can wind up with very little of each

’Music on par with sport, according to pupils, and that’s saying something at Repton. Whether music is your everything or you just like belting hymns in chapel there's plenty of scope. ‘Not just top choirs but junior choirs and house music all approached with similar gusto,’ confirmed a parent. Spacious department boasts recording studio (electric guitars at full throttle during our visit, and students have performed for Radio 4), 22 practice rooms, classrooms (where we lingered in a lively GCSE music discussion) and a performance space with new Steinway – ‘the jewel in the crown’ (though the chapel’s Harrison & Harrison organ ain't half bad either). ‘But it’s hard to commit to music and sport,’ cautioned one student – ‘if you pick orchestra over hockey practice or vice versa you upset the other department.’

Clubs include everything from chess to the very popular debating Pick a subject and put a ‘soc’ in it and you’ve probably named one of the school societies ‘Some are secret and you have to be invited,’ whispered a wide-eyed pupil For outdoors pursuits, CCF (army or RAF) has a distinguished history at Repton and DofE is popular; school also has its own outward bound options