From the Headmaster, Mr Jeremy McCullough

We are delighted to launch our 'Take A Seat Campaign' which will offer the Colston's community a chance to play a lasting part in the refurbishment of the school's theatre seating.

As many of you will know, in 1992, with the exciting new sports hall having been built, the school gym was converted into a wonderful school theatre. With generous donations from The Harry Crook Trust, Old Colstonians, Parents and Governors, a new place for generations of Colstons’s students to learn about themselves and to make those life-long bonds was established.

And it is the theatre that I write to you about today. At a time when schools across the country are cutting their provision for the arts, we are purposefully asking for more and more drama. You may already know that standards of academic and co-curricular Drama at Colston’s are very high, but we have recently introduced a biennial whole school musical, we have junior and senior drama club productions, the Year 6 always end their time at the Lower School with a fantastic production and our very smallest Colstonians delight parents, and grandparents of course, with their Christmas shows; all on the same stage.

We even have famous acting alumni such as Tom England OC (2007) whose success has inspired many Colstonians to pursue university courses and ultimately careers in the arts. 

It is true that we develop our budding actors and technicians and achieve amazing academic results; but Drama at Colston’s is also about giving everyone a space in which to develop all sorts of life-skills. Yes, we celebrate those that will go on to tread the boards on a much bigger stage, but we also delight in the youngster that overcomes their shyness with a couple of lines in a school show.

We want the theatre to continue to be central to the life of the school and, indeed, a space that can increasingly be used by our local community so we have begun a process of refurbishment. We have rejuvenated the foyer, which looks fantastic. We have given the place a lick of paint and have continued to invest heavily in the technology; the lighting rigs and desks and soundboards, etc.

The next step is to replace the rather tired seating and this project seems a good answer to those Old Colstonians and other friends of the school who quite often ask me how they could make a difference to the school. 

If you would like further information about the campaign please do visit our website: http://www.colstons.org/theatre-appeal for further information.