PQA Colchester Summer School is back; bigger and better! Due to the popularity of last year's Summer School and high demand for another we've decided to make this year's Summer School a real week to remember. We are very excited to announce that this year our 6-11 year old's will rehearse and perform Matilda in a Week while 12-18 year old's will be challenged in a five day Film School! The Summer School will be the week of August 7th-11th.

Matilda The Musical - 10 AM - 4 PM Our 6-11 year old's will spend the week with industry professionals learning and rehearsing all things Matilda. We have a fantastic 20 minute abridged version of the Royal Shakespeare Company's musical, written by Dennis Kelly and music written by Tim Minchin. All parents, friends and family will be invited to see the hard work and fun their children have been having through the week when we perform the show on the Friday afternoon at the Headgate Theatre in Colchester. Students will rehearse at Philip Morant School and College Mon-Thurs then on Friday we will transfer into the theatre for our tech and dress run ready for our show in the afternoon. This is a fantastic experience and we're extremely excited!

Five Day Film School - 10 AM - 4 PM Our 12-18 years will be perform roles in front of and behind the camera when they develop, shoot and produce their very own film in a week. With our super experienced Film & TV Teacher, Toby, students can expect to learn, create and have loads of fun in the process. All students will receive a DVD copy of their films which will also be screened at as part of the PQA Colchester PM Cinema Screening in November at Firstsite. All of our Five Day Film School students will be invited to attend the screening where they get to put on their finery, walk the red carpet and attend a medal ceremony. Oh, and did I mention eat lots of POPCORN?!

Arts Award Explore - 9 AM - 5 PM This year we will be delivering Trinity Arts Award Explore alongside our Summer schools. This is a recognised Trinity College London qualification which will require students to attend an extra two hours each day. Arriving at 9am and departing at 5pm, students will complete the arts award during the extra two hours. The award compliments everything the students will be doing during the day as well as giving students a chance to grow as artists, gain new skills and a get a qualification for their hard work. This option also works very well for any parents or guardians with longer hours at work!

Arts Award is...

...a range of unique qualifications that supports anyone aged up to 25 to grow as artists and arts leaders, inspiring them to connect with and take part in the wider arts world through taking challenges in an art form - from fashion to digital art, pottery to poetry.

Offered at five different levels, young people get to:

• discover the enjoyment of creating and participating in any art form
• develop their creativity and leadership skills
• learn new skills and share them with others
• get to work with or experience working with creative arts professionals
• gain experience and knowledge to progress into further education and employment

To achieve their Arts Award, young people take on challenges in an art form, participate in arts activities, experience arts events, get inspired by artists and share their arts skills with others. Young people create a portfolio to keep a record of their creative journey. Along the way they are supported by an Arts Award adviser, acting as assessor, facilitator and mentor.

This award is an Entry Level 3 qualification on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF). It is the perfect stepping stone from our introductory award, Arts Award Discover, to the Level 1 qualification, Bronze Arts Award. 

Anyone aged up to 25 can take part in Arts Award. Arts Award Explore is designed for ages 7 plus.  Young people collect their arts experiences in an Explore arts log as they go along, recording what they find and enjoy.