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24/03/25

We ran a book cover competition for World Book Day this year, and here are the winners! #worldbookday#bookcovers pic.twitter.com/OC4bXBCqyo— Valley Park School () March 24, 2025

24/03/25

The week ahead is a big week for our Performing Arts students, as they're putting on our latest Musical production; Sister Act!#wearevalleypark#wearevalleyparkperformingarts#sisteract pic.twitter.com/iduwmFUDTN— Valley Park School () March 24, 2025

23/03/25

“Pupils who didn't achieve grade 9-4 in English & Maths GCSEs in 2019 had an overall absence rate of 8.8% over the key stage, compared with 5.2% among pupils who achieved a grade 4 & 3.7% among pupils who achieved grade 9-5 in both English and Maths.” The DforE#everylessoncounts pic.twitter.com/CzaQzaGbOt— Valley Park School () March 23, 2025

22/03/25

Rejoice! Sister Act is only 4 sleeps away! https://t.co/5YaEKFU4Tm #wearevalleyparkproductions pic.twitter.com/EnOzsOYx0a— Valley Park School () March 22, 2025

21/03/25

Nowruz, the Persian New Year, marks the start of Spring and means ‘New Day’. While often secular, Nowruz is celebrated by people from diverse religious & cultural backgrounds, holding sacred significance for Zoroastrians, Baháʼís, and some Muslims. pic.twitter.com/ot0wEbzHty— Valley Park School () March 21, 2025

21/03/25

Friday is House Points update day!#wearevalleypark pic.twitter.com/RRQ0bhcYIV— Valley Park School () March 21, 2025

20/03/25

Huge Congratulations to Max in Year 7 for being Awarded the Commandants Award 2025 at Army Youths! Well done Max! #armyyouths pic.twitter.com/48ggTR3vyh— Valley Park School () March 20, 2025

20/03/25

Year 7 student, Cara, played in the U12 London cup final at the weekend. Her team beat Charlton Academy 1-0 to become champions. Well done Cara! #ambitious pic.twitter.com/NQHn1MhiUV— Valley Park School () March 20, 2025

20/03/25

Year 9 Pathway+ students attended an induction at Mid Kent College, learning about the carousel programme and participating in mini-courses. The students engaged in activities like decorating biscuits, constructing robots, and bricklaying. pic.twitter.com/AcMqfwmdcM— Valley Park School () March 20, 2025

20/03/25

In the Pagan calendar, the Spring equinox, known as Eostre or Ostara, celebrates Earth's renewal and life’s resurgence after winter. Eostre, the pagan fertility goddess, is associated with symbols like hares and eggs, signifying new beginnings. pic.twitter.com/36dAMW5zZp— Valley Park School () March 20, 2025

19/03/25

Thank you to all our Year 6 parents who attended our welcome event last week. We're really looking forward to sharing the next 5 to 7 years with you and your child and seeing how they thrive here.#wearevalleyparktransition pic.twitter.com/ZV7MvtgbtW— Valley Park School () March 19, 2025

18/03/25

Tomorrow's exams are... pic.twitter.com/Xim7QKfHVj— Valley Park School () March 18, 2025

18/03/25

Talented Valley Park musicians performed at The Wishful Thinker Pub yesterday evening, in a new event called V in the Pub. pic.twitter.com/mRgff8YEIc— Valley Park School () March 18, 2025

17/03/25

Tomorrow's exams are... pic.twitter.com/zIoZFilltW— Valley Park School () March 17, 2025

17/03/25

Year 12 & 13 IT & Computer Science students attended Aspiration Digital at Bluewater, a careers conference exploring the digital universe. They heard from industry experts and participated in workshops, making connections for future work experience. pic.twitter.com/FTLA17IILH— Valley Park School () March 17, 2025

17/03/25

We begin the week with St Patrick’s Day and V in the Pub, held at The Wishful Thinker this evening. There are Sixth Form Open Morning Tours on Monday and Wednesday. We end the week with World Maths Day.#wearevalleypark#theweekahead pic.twitter.com/bcEMIqHSUU— Valley Park School () March 17, 2025

17/03/25

St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland is a celebration of their patron saint with parades, music, dancing, and green attire. Traditional Irish food like corned beef and cabbage is enjoyed, along with Guinness, in pubs worldwide. pic.twitter.com/8jVM8UERZF— Valley Park School () March 17, 2025

16/03/25

There are many reasons why a student might struggle with attendance at school. Valley Park has a dedicated team to help & support you. To speak to someone, contact us by phone or email & a member of the attendance team will get back to you. pic.twitter.com/MOc1fYzm3h— Valley Park School () March 16, 2025

16/03/25

Tomorrow's exams are... pic.twitter.com/14M24AdT7G— Valley Park School () March 16, 2025

14/03/25

You can still book a place on our Sixth Form Open Morning Tours, which are coming up on Monday March 17 and Wednesday March 19 at 8.45am. Visit our website: https://t.co/58lYerhh35 pic.twitter.com/pkN79jHnXP— Valley Park School () March 14, 2025

14/03/25

House points update...#housepointsfriday pic.twitter.com/b3oJ8E50ak— Valley Park School () March 14, 2025

12/03/25

Spread the love around! Sister Act is playing at Valley Park School from Wed 26 March! Book your tickets now: https://t.co/5YaEKFTx3O #wearevalleyparkproductions pic.twitter.com/8JSll2CTJ3— Valley Park School () March 12, 2025

11/03/25

Last Friday Dance students attended Move It 2025, the world's biggest Dance event! They participated in workshops, and some brave students performed on the Freestyle stage. Hamish advanced to the final stages of the Freestyle competition. pic.twitter.com/a8YJns0mtN— Valley Park School () March 11, 2025

11/03/25

We are immensely proud to share that last weekend all the hard work and training came to the most amazing fruition as year 9 student, Daisy was crowned WDO World Champion in the Blackpool Tower with her formation team! Well done Daisy! pic.twitter.com/FjiRx6hC6k— Valley Park School () March 11, 2025

10/03/25

Year 9 student, Amy (second from right), headed to Sheffield this weekend to compete in the British Schools Judo Championship and won a Bronze medal. We are incredibly proud to have a national medallist at our school! Well done Amy! #judo pic.twitter.com/oAs4RaNIMM— Valley Park School () March 10, 2025

Zorro

Our production of Zorro was the UK amateur premiere, which originally debuted in London’s West End in June of 2008, receiving rave reviews. Zorro, ‘the fox’, was created in 1919 by Johnston McCulley for his novel ‘The Curse of Capistrano’. It was the first of 65 immensely popular tales in which Zorro fought injustice in Spanish California’s Pueblo de Los Angeles. 

Since then, Zorro has appeared in films, TV shows, plays, ballets, operas, novels & comic books, and this musical version retells the dramatic story with spectacular sword-fighting and incredible magic – all set to the famous red-hot Gipsy King beat brought to the stage with the authentic colours of traditional flamenco.

One of the challenging parts of Zorro was staging the sword-fights, with students who had no real experience. Fortunately, we had the capable sword-arm of fight director Gary Andrews, who came in on three occasions to teach students the art of sword-fighting for the stage...

Swordfighting workshop016

Five-Point System

Gary Andrews, who has been directing fights at schools and theatres for around 20 years, assessed the students’ ability by teaching them the footwork, guard positions, attacks and parries that make up basic fencing. He then taught them the basic five point numbering system used to annotate moves. 

‘Each part of the body corresponds with a number so it makes instruction a lot more accurate,’ said Craig Barden, who plays Ramon in our production. ‘It helped me find confidence in my ability and fluency in my technique.’

‘The system goes clockwise around the body,’ explained Mr Andrews. ‘The right leg is number 1, right shoulder is 2, head is 3, left shoulder is 4 and left leg is 5. So, if I say “attack 2,1,2,4,3” the actors know the sequence and target of the attacks - and defences!’

Replicas

Students were lucky enough to use Mr Andrew’s professional sword replicas, which helped them get into character.

‘Apart from fighting imaginary monsters in my childhood with a plastic sword, I had never done any sword-fighting before,’ said Harry Harding, who plays Diego De La Vega. ‘It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience which gave me an idea how heavy the swords would be when we do the show.’

Tricks

Each fight was choreographed taking into account the ability of the characters (Zorro is an expert, the soldiers are less competent) and the story the fight should tell: is it an easy victory, a comical action sequence or a dramatic showdown? 

‘We also take into account where the audience is,’ said Mr Andrews, ‘so we show the fight from the best angle to hide all the tricks we use to make it seem real!’

Adrenaline 

After plenty of practice at half-speed, students found the fight movements becoming more automatic, so they increased their ‘performance speed’ to about 75%.  

‘This is usually fast enough for an audience seeing the fight for the first time,’ added Mr Andrews, ‘but performance adrenaline usually adds another 15% or so!’

Muscle Memory

‘Having practiced the sequences many times,’ said Harry, ‘my muscle memory knows what to do when we fight so I feel very prepared. Mr Andrews was an excellent teacher and he was very laid back when we made mistakes.’

Not a Good Look

‘When I was eight I used to play sword fighting with my cousin,’ said Craig, ‘which resulted in me sustaining an eye injury. Not a good look! Luckily this experience taught me how to get sword fighting right without being an idiot this time!’

Tweak

Mr Andrews paid a further two visits to Valley Park. ‘I usually come back a week or two before the show opens,’ he said, ‘to polish the fight and make sure no bad habits have developed – or to tweak any moves that are not quite working.’

Focused

‘I can honestly say that your students were amongst the politest, keenest and most able I have taught,’ said Mr Andrews. ‘They were quick learners and very focused, and I’m sure that this will lead to a really great show.’