Creative Arts

The Creative Arts thrive at Canford and even if you do not take Art, Music or Drama as an Academic option for GCSE or A Level, there is plenty of opportunity to hone your artistic talents. 

The school has a wonderful theatre seating over 300 with sophisticated lighting and sound systems, while the Music School has a 200 seat auditorium as well as individual practice rooms and classrooms.   The Art department is spread across two buildings with an adjoining courtyard area perfect for displaying art or working on projects outdoors and offers specialists in different art disciplines.

Each year group performs a play on stage in the Layard Theatre every year and regular concerts are held both in the Music School and in a variety of prestigious external venues, including Poole’s Arts Centre, the home of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. The Art department welcomes pupils who might have an interest in a particular area of art or sculpture, or simply wish to develop their drawing, painting or 3D skills.

The Shell Carousel of activities takes pupils out of their comfort zones and challenges them to learn new skills, many of which are arts based such as pinhole photography, textiles and campanology. Other events include annual House Music, Drama and Art competitions, a Shell Music and Poetry evening, House charity events involving music and drama performances.   A 'Pop Up Music Day' sees pupils performing in unusual venues across the school - guitarists in the Music School pond, singers in the Minstrels' Gallery in the Great Hall and cellists by the Sunken Lawn are a regular feature!

Presentation skills are encouraged through the wide range of school societies on offer.  Potential orators have the chance to shine in debates and discussions, and for those interested in creative writing, budding journalists can develop their skills helping to write for and edit the pupil journal 'The Canfordian' which is published annually and the weekly pupil newspaper 'The Week'. The CP Snow and Baynham Essay prizes, run each year by the English department as part of the EPQ, offer Sixth Formers the opportunity to write creatively on a particular topic.  

The Canfordian and other school publications

School Groups and Societies