In Greenfields Lower Senior School, students are encouraged to develop proficiency in the Arts – Music, Art, Dance and Drama. Art is considered as an essential life skill and it is taught as such.

A custom-built Art classroom with a balcony provides the space for artistic development.

Any student with an aptitude for music is encouraged both in the class music lessons and with individual tuition. Greenfields has a unique extra-curricular activity in the form of the Sussex Rock School. Local professional musicians provide individual tuition to students, who often form up into bands or groups during the year.

Something very special with regard to the Arts is the fact that, during the last three weeks of the Summer Term, almost the entirety of the Senior School student body becomes a Theatre Company – GTC (Greenfields Theatre Company).

Providing that their academic targets have been met, students are invited to participate in the GTC, which puts on a full-scale theatrical production with several performances each July as part of the school’s Gala Weekend, the end-of-school year celebration. Students handle the many facets that a full-scale theatre production involves: public relations and marketing, finance, stage management, lighting, sound, props and scenery, costume making, and of course, acting and dancing. The students do it all under the supervision of the Drama Department, and the productions have become well-known for their quality and professionalism.

Recent productions include:
2001: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
2002: Animal Farm
2003: The Hobbit
2004: It’s a Wonderful Life
2005: Pride and Prejudice
2006: Wuthering Heights
2007: Robin Hood
2008: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2009: Shakespeare in Love

GTC builds communication skills and leaves students with a tremendous sense of accomplishment and achievement.

Art in the Lower Seniors

During these years a wide range of media and processes are introduced to the students to enhance their understanding of the basic visual elements of line, form, colour, tone, pattern and texture. Art history is also covered and various periods researched – this includes outings to galleries and local facilities.

Greenfields Dance Company

From Preschool all the way to the Sixth Form, all students, male and female, are offered the opportunity to participate in private dance lessons, covering modern, jazz, tap and classical and contemporary ballet.

Dancers study the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance syllabus and are entered for examinations if they wish. As well as performing in many school productions, students have the opportunity to dance in local theatrical productions and to choreograph their own dances.

Outings

Subject teachers are encouraged to organise outings to places of special interest for their subjects. Recent ones include Kew Gardens, the Imperial War Museum and the Houses of Parliament. Sports fixtures are also a regular feature of life at Greenfields.