Caters for children aged 8-17 yrs
Our Senior school takes place on Saturday afternoons from 2-5 pm, at St. Andrews Halls, Monkseaton which is a safe, warm and friendly environment where children between the ages of 8-17 yrs are given the opportunity to develop their skills and techniques within the performing arts field under the instruction of highly qualified and experienced staff.
The sessions are predominately run by Ema Waites, Rachel Emms, Andrew Clarence and Holly Kneller, who offer modern and quirky sessions providing diverse training within the given fields, of Dance, Drama and Music. The sessions enable children to experience, develop and showcase all skills and talents. Students are offered the chance to develop leadership qualities, experiment and improvise, along with being creative and developing their own ideas through individual tasks and group work. The children participate in several exercises which promote confidence, co-ordination, rhythm, spatial awareness and social skills.
The children, staff and parents have an excellent working relationship and the school is very friendly and welcoming to all new students.
The school is generally split into 3 groups, Minors, Mids and Majors, these are usually split according to age although this may vary depending on group size.
Within these sessions the children work under the leadership of the staff and explore relevant tasks, script work, choreography and musical elements developing a sound understanding of the skills required to succeed within the industry.
Twice a year the children work towards a performance. In December they will appear in a ‘Workshop’ production at St. Andrews, where they usually perform short sections of work which demonstrate their learning throughout the term. In July the school undertakes its main show. In the past these have included shows such as, Billy Elliot, Suessical The Musical and Bugsy Malone. At Saturday Stage Schools we endeavour to ensure that our students receive the best quality training within the arts so each summer we aim for our shows to be at the Whitley Bay Playhouse, as we feel it is of great importance to offer the children the best theatrical experience possible. All of our performances are enthusiastically received by both parents and the general public and we strive to maintain our excellent reputation.
In the Spring term the older students of the school are also given the opportunity to compete in the Ryton Festival. The students work on Drama based pieces with Jeff Waites who mentors the children through their own improvisations and script work, and each year the school works hard to maintain its outstanding reputation and ownership of the Mary Gray cup.
When attending Saturday Stage Schools the children are required to wear a uniform, this consists of grey tops and dark combat/jogging bottoms and either bare feet or jazz shoes. We do sell hoodies, t-shirts and vest tops, embroided with our logo and a selection of dance shoes, these all come in a variety of sizes to cater for all ages. Although our tops are not compulsory at this present time, most children attending the schools own one of the above items. Please note that children will be required to wear jazz shoes when taking part in any of our performances.
There is a tuck-shop open to all students within the day and we provide water or juice free of charge. All proceeds from our tuck-shop go towards our main summer production. We also hold other small fundraising events throughout the year to support the costs of performing annually at the Whitley Bay Playhouse.
We are always keen for new students to come along and join us, we suggest a 3 week trial period (costs apply) to ensure the children settle. No auditions are required. For further information on fees or to discuss availability of places please contact us
We look forward to hearing from you!