Five-Year Development Plan January 2009

Our Vision
Tring Park stands at the forefront of artistic specialist education in the UK. It offers a unique opportunity for outstandingly talented young people to realise their ambitions in the Performing Arts while still benefiting from a fine academic education tailored to their individual abilities and needs.

We have four core values:

• Artistic excellence
• Creativity
• Passion
• Dedication

Underlying Principles
The School is one of the leading performing arts schools in the UK.

The School will continue to develop and demonstrate unique features which will in turn, attract talented pupils with the potential to achieve success in the future, within business markets known to be volatile.

In pursuit of this overall objective, the School has adopted the following specific objectives:

To increase the size of the School
The number of pupils has been reasonably constant over the last few years and the School aims to increase the total number to 300. This will be achieved in a number of ways:

1. By upgrading and increasing the existing teaching and boarding accommodation as well as School facilities. For more information, please visit the New Building section of the website.

2. The School aims to obtain DaDAs for the Musical Theatre course. We have increased school scholarships for the Musical Theatre, Drama, Theatre Arts and Performance Foundation courses and our aim is to increase these even further.

3. By attracting a greater number of new pupils at the junior/middle level, since this will provide greater stability and enhance pupil choice.

Improving entry standards
At present entry is through audition and there is no selection on an academic basis. Over the next few years the aim is to increase the pool of vocationally qualified applicants so that an increasing proportion of offers can be made on an academic basis. This in turn should lead to a more consistent, and higher, academic standard.

Improving the overall standard of pupils leaving the school
This can only be achieved by continuing to improve the range and standard of its vocational and academic work so that pupils are given ever-increasing opportunities to achieve their individual potential. The achievement of this goal will be measured in two ways:

1. The School’s contribution to the Performing Arts.
The School’s vision is to aim to be the leading performing arts school in the UK. Approximately 65% of its pupils go directly into the Performing Arts or enter a vocationally oriented higher or further education course in, or related, to the Performing Arts. Ideally the School would like to increase that figure without forgetting that some of the most talented pupils will still want to pursue non-performing arts careers.

2. ‘A’ level results
The uniqueness of Tring Park stems from the combination of excellence in both Performing Arts and in academic disciplines. The school has averaged a 65% A and B Grade pass rate at A Level over the past 5 years. The aim is to maintain this level of achievement, along with the breadth of subjects offered, some 17 subjects in 2008, and move towards a 70% pass rate. At the same time, we recognise the different learning styles of students and has offered BTEC qualifications in Performing Arts. We have achieved an average 73.8% Distinction Level pass in the first two years of the course.

How will we achieve this?

The Curriculum
The School will continue to be committed to a balanced curriculum of the three stands of Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre, with Music as a strong supporter but not a discrete course. Although the strands may not necessarily develop equally in size, over the next few years all three are expected to develop and reach an equal level of excellence.

Changes to the Vocational Courses

Dance students have recently been given the option of an additional year in the Sixth Form, allowing them to train for three years. This has proved popular and will continue.

The Drama course is now studied at Sixth Form level only, allowing greater focus on the breadth and depth of the training. Film studies are now taught as part of the course. Dance and movement classes are now streamed according to availability, placing a firm emphasis on the importance of an actor’s physicality and general fitness. The introduction of the BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts has also been welcomed. Although no further significant changes are deemed necessary, the course will continue to be refined, and may include a discrete Film and Technical Studies course at Sixth Form level.

The Musical Theatre curriculum is now more rigorous and the new course is more balanced, covering Dance, Singing and Acting with a view to the future destinations of Musical Theatre students. Tring Park is now pursuing accreditation by Trinity/Laban for a three-year Musical Theatre course, similar to that held by the Dance course. This will allow the School to apply for DaDA funding for Musical Theatre students.

Changes to the Academic Course
The School remains committed to the academic excellence of pupils.

The choice of academic subjects offered is impressive, particularly for a school of this size. From First to Fifth Form (Years 7-11), the School will continue to follow the National Curriculum. Although no longer a requirement of the National Curriculum, pupils are expected to take a modern foreign language at GCSE.

Students in the Sixth Form will continue to be offered a wide choice of subjects. The core academic subjects are available at ‘A’ level as well as the specialist subjects of Dance, Theatre Studies, and Music. The newly introduced BTEC may be studied as a free-standing course or in combination with ‘A’ levels. Some other subjects not currently offered at ‘A’ level, may be taken in conjunction with local sixth form colleges.

There is much debate at the moment over the future of ‘A’ levels, IB and Cambridge Pre-University tests. Future changes to the academic curriculum will depend on the outcome of the current debate.

Marketing Strategy
A revised marketing strategy aims to encourage an increased number of more talented and better qualified pupils to apply to the School. This will ensure that the School can achieve its commitment to be one of the leading Performing Arts schools in the UK.