Hurtwood House: Wonderfully Creative reassuringly Academic
Hurtwood House, a school set in the beautiful Surrey Hills, is arguably the most exciting school in England. Hurtwood, which specialises exclusively in the sixth form, is a creative utopia, a treasure-trove for the aspiring actor, director, dancer or musician. Alongside traditional A Levels such as Science, Mathematics, Business and Economics, students can pick from an impressive array of creative subjects including Art, Textiles, Music Technology, Photography, Theatre, Dance and Media. With over 60% of all A Levels taken being awarded A*or A in the last five years, Hurtwood excels in both the academic and creative arenas.
Performing Arts is at the heart of Hurtwood. With over 40 productions a year, everything from lunchtime concerts to major Christmas musicals running for 10 nights (‘We Will Rock You’, ‘Chicago’ and most recently the sensational ‘Legally Blonde’), no other school comes close. Hurtwood employs professional choreographers, musical directors and musicians to give students a real taste of the West End. The sheer volume of Drama on offer is breathtaking. With a theatre, an amphitheatre and more intimate studio space, students can strut their stuff and develop their skills in performance, direction, design and production. From rock concerts to Shakespeare, at Hurtwood there is always another show round the corner.
If you are interested in filmmaking and the world of Media, Hurtwood House is the only place to be. As ‘The Good Schools Guide’ stated “This is professional stuff. The media/theatre complex is huge: think masses of green rooms, mixing studios, dance studios, recording studios, video studios”. Budding filmmakers are flocking to Hurtwood to study Media. Why? Perhaps it is the industry standard TV studio kitted out with the latest cameras and green screen or the cutting-edge post-production facilities and editing suites. Maybe it is the expert tuition from talented teachers, many of whom are industry professionals. Perhaps it is the real-world practical skills that the students learn both in the A Level and in Hurtwood’s own ‘Film Academy’, a film school within a school. Through the curriculum students are taught camera and lighting skills, screenwriting and directing as well as high level post-production editing, as they make broadcast quality music videos and opening film title sequences. In Hurtwood’s Film Academy elite Media students take their training to another level. They make documentaries, film and broadcast Hurtwood productions live and experience the old traditional filmmaking methods using 16mm film.
Hurtwood Drama and Media students are without doubt part of something special and it is no surprise that Hurtwood alumni now include BAFTA nominated directors, cinematographers, and filmmakers working behind the camera as well as Hollywood superstars working in front of them.
