School Profile – Emanuel School

Pupils at Emanuel School Wandsworth

“Drama and music are good for the soul, spirit and collective identity of our pupils,” says Headmaster, Robert Milne, “working and having fun together as a collective is so important for their welfare, wellbeing and personal growth.”

Whilst the lockdowns prompted all schools to embrace technology, the teaching and learning at Emanuel adapted, and in many cases thrived with every single pupil being able to maintain their timetable online every single day. But the school went the extra mile, placing just as much emphasis on its co-curricular activities as its academic curriculum.

Music concerts and drama clubs continued online throughout. The school even managed to put on four performances during the pandemic period from March 2020 to July 2021, including the whole school musical, ‘The Addams Family,’ a major feat considering much of the rehearsals had to be done in small socially distanced bubbles.

“Finishing the musical this year was almost like a metaphor for us fighting off this virus!” says Year 12 student, Maisie. “It enabled people to feel connected to each other in times of isolation.”

Indeed, Emanuel’s aptitude to embrace technology is testament to its overall progressive outlook on education and as such the school constantly looks for opportunities for pupils wherever their passions lie, explains Charles Janz, Director of Music.

“Most music departments have a bias towards classical music. Whilst I agree it is very important, I don’t think it is more important than other, more contemporary genres of music. There is room for both at Emanuel.”

As such the music department has revolutionised its curriculum expanding into DJing, production, electronic dance music and remixing. Its efforts include hiring two professional DJs to its teaching staff; inviting representatives from dance music labels and popular night clubs to careers events; and much to the delight of the sixth formers, a performance at the Ministry of Sound in March 2022.

Emanuel School

As a result, boys and girls, who may have been DJing at home, are now engaging in music at school such as Year 10 DJ, Ice Dob. She says, “The lessons have allowed me to hone my technical skills and improve my overall performance as a DJ.”

Similarly, in drama, pupils have just as much opportunity to take part in the technical aspects of production, such as stage and costume design, lighting, filming and editing, as performing.

Students are often scouted by talent agents in the audience at the annual musical, and whilst some have appeared in Netflix series, BBC dramas and the West End, it is “the day-to-day transformative impact of the arts on pupils which is far more inspirational,” says Clare Fearnley, Head of Drama.

This is the very ethos that runs throughout the school and is the reason it offers scholarships of up to 50% of the fees and plans to offer 43 free school places by 2024.
For those who don’t get plucked from the cast, Emanuel provides careers and auditions training, with several leavers going on to RADA, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and Guildford School of Acting, as well as the big screen.

Many go on to prestigious schools, conservatoires and Russell Group universities, but Ravi Kothakota, Deputy Head Pastoral insists, “It’s not so much about the destination than it is about finding the right path. Students find their passion at Emanuel, and we facilitate their journey by developing opportunities for them to thrive.”

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