Northampton secondary school says performing arts teaches students ‘there is no wrong answer’

With a physical theatre company visiting a Northampton secondary school at the end of the month, the head of their performing arts department has spoken out about the importance of teaching students “there is no wrong answer”.

Frantic Assembly physical theatre company will be visiting Kingsthorpe College on January 26, and the students are excited to welcome them because of the “major impact” their work has had on them.

The visit will be followed by a trip to London for the school’s sixth formers to watch their performance of Othello that evening.

Lucy Townsend, who has been head of performing arts at Kingsthorpe College for the past five years, said: “Performing arts encourages creativity and self-expression.

“A lot of the curriculum is based on getting the right answer and I remember being the person in class to get it wrong when everyone had the same.

“We want everyone to come up with a different answer in performing arts and prove no one can be wrong.”

Kingsthorpe College’s performing arts department often combines dance and drama, and students respond positively to the fusion of the two.

They are “huge fans” of the work of Frantic Assembly and because of the skill among their sixth form students, Kingsthorpe College believed they deserved the visit.

“It will give them higher level experience and in-depth skills and knowledge,” said Lucy. “Frantic Assembly’s work is groundbreaking and unique, and it will be inspirational for the students to see it first hand.”

The head of department says with the close work between staff and students, the pupils have come on leaps and bounds across both dance and drama.

Lucy said: “They don’t shy away from either. It’s hugely important for schools to promote creative subjects and I couldn’t be more proud of the journey our department has been on.

“We want to continue giving them opportunities to open themselves up to the world.”

The department hopes the skills their students have been equipped with, across dance, drama and music, will take them to where they want to be – whether that is school performances or competing nationally.