24th February 2020 — Students at the UK's most prestigious performing arts school, once attended by actors Lily James and Daisy Ridley, will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of its ambitious Contemporary Theatre Festival* next month.

Sixth-form pupils on the acting course at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts will be staging the festival from 3-13 March, which will see them perform seven plays in 10 days. Tring Park is one of the only performing arts schools in the country to put on such an ambitious event.

Six of the plays will be performed at the school’s 176-seater Markova Theatre, while one play – Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen – will be performed in the school’s ballroom, which is housed in a former Rothschild Mansion House. The ballroom was transformed into a London hotel dining room for a number of scenes in the Oscar-winning movie Judy.

The plays include a mixture of classics and contemporary pieces from Hedda Gabler to The Red Devils Trilogy by Debbie Horsfield, who is a writer and producer, known for Poldark (2015), Cutting It (2002) and The Riff Raff Element (1993). The other plays are

• B by G Calderon by Guillermo Calderón
• Woman in Mind by Alan Acykbourn
• Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• The House of Bernarda Alba by Lorca
• Pack of Lies by Hugh Whitemore
  

The festival, which has become increasingly popular each year with audiences, provides the students with the perfect opportunity to try different genres of plays in a short space of time.

As well as Daisy Ridley and Lily James, Tring Park's glittering alumni includes:

• Joe Griffiths-Brown, who graduated from Tring Park School in 2018, plays Man 1 and Charles Lee in the smash-hit musical Hamilton.
• Former student Sofia Oxenham played the new character "feisty" Tess Tregidden in the latest series of BBC One's Poldark.
• Ex-Tring Park student Bart Edwards is currently starring in the Netflix smash hit series The Witcher.
• Former X Factor star Ella Henderson is also an alumni and recently returned to the school in November on a trip down memory lane when her new song, ‘Young', was released.
• Jessica Brown-Findlay (Downton Abbey)
• Director and choreographer Drew McOnie, who won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for his work on In the Heights. Drew has also directed Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom in the West End, and King Kong on Broadway;
• Six Tring Park students aged between 15 and 18 performed in the world premiere tour of Sir Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet, which is a passionate and contemporary reimagining of Shakespeare's classic love story.
  

Tickets for the shows, which will be at the school’s on-site Markova Theatre, cost £11 and are available from tringpark.com

Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, which is both a day school and a boarding school for children from eight to 19 years, has its roots in dance and is world famous for its dance credentials, having produced many a professional dance star and choreographer.

* (Pictures from last year’s performance of Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca during the 2019 Contemporary Theatre Festival)

– ENDS –

Media contact for Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

Angie Cronin

Loudbird PR and Communications

07970 810302

www.loudbird.co.uk

loudbird@btinternet.com

Follow us on: www.twitter.com/loudbirdPR

High res images available on request

About Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

• Tring Park is one of the UK's top performing arts schools - the majority of pupils forge successful careers in the performing arts.
• Tring Park provides a unique community for talented young people, regardless of means or background, who have both passion and talent for dance, drama, musical theatre or commercial music.
• Tring Park also provides a balanced education and has an outstanding academic record: pupils regularly get into the top universities.
• Tring Park is housed in a former Rothschild mansion in beautiful grounds in Tring, Hertfordshire, and was used as a location (a Russian ballet school) in the 2015 Avengers movie, Age of Ultron.
• Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, which is both a day school and a boarding school for children from eight to 19 years, has its roots in dance and is world famous for its dance credentials, having produced many a professional dance star and choreographer.
• Its young dance students perform in West End ballet productions with the English National Ballet at the London Coliseum.
  

24th February 2020 — The UK's most prestigious performing arts school is celebrating Renee Zellweger's Oscars success for her portrayal of Judy Garland in the bio pic Judy after the school played a key role in the filming of the movie.

Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire, which boasts a glittering alumni that includes Daisy Ridley and Lily James, provided the backdrop for many of the scenes in Judy, which depicts Judy's time in London in the late 1960s where she performed in a series of sold-out stage performances, Talk of the Town, as she struggled to deal with a desperate financial situation, and her addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Tring Park, located in the Hertfordshire countryside, was chosen as a location for the movie as Judy spent the last few months of her life in England. The film was directed by British director Rupert Goold, who is also the artistic director of London's Almeida Theatre.

The assembly hall in the school, which is housed in a former Rothschild Mansion*, was transformed into a London hotel dining room for a number scenes in the movie, while a room in the basement of the Mansion House was transformed into Judy's dressing room for her shows Talk of the Town. The filming of Judy at Tring Park helps to embellish the already fascinating history of the school.

Filming took place in April 2018 and Renee was on set for filming throughout the month along with Jessie Buckley and Michael Gambon.

As well as Daisy Ridley and Lily James, Tring Park's glittering alumni includes:

Jessica Brown-Findlay (Downton Abbey)

Director and choreographer Drew McOnie, who won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for his work on In the Heights. Drew has also directed Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom in the West End, and King Kong on Broadway;

Six Tring Park students aged between 15 and 18 performed in the world premiere tour of Sir Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet, which is a passionate and contemporary reimagining of Shakespeare's classic love story.

Joe Griffiths-Brown, who graduated from Tring Park School in 2018, plays Man 1 and Charles Lee in the smash-hit musical Hamilton.

Former student Sofia Oxenham played the new character "feisty" Tess Tregidden in the latest series of BBC One's Poldark.

Ex-Tring Park student Bart Edwards is currently starring in the Netflix smash hit series The Witcher.

Former X Factor star Ella Henderson is also an alumni and recently returned to the school in November on a trip down memory lane when her new song, ‘Young', was released.

Tring Park School is both a day and boarding school for students aged eight to 19. Alongside a broad academic curriculum, the school offers courses in dance, acting and musical theatre to learners up to the age of 16. Sixth Form students are able to study Acting, Musical Theatre and Commercial Music up to age 18 while dancers can take a three-year course, graduating at age 19.

*Tring Park was built to a design of Sir Christopher Wren in 1685 and was visited several times by Charles II. Sir William Gore, Lord Mayor of London bought the house in 1705 and it remained in his family for two subsequent generations. in 1786, it was sold to Sir Drummond Smith, a London banker, who refurbished the interior in Georgian style and remodelled the park in the fashion made popular by "Capability" Brown.

William Kay, a Manchester textile magnate, bought the estate in 1823 and in 1838, Nathan de Rothschild began renting Tring Park as a summer residence. When the property was sold in 1872, Lionel de Rothschild bought it as a wedding present for his son, Sir Nathaniel (later Lord) de Rothschild.

Lord Rothschild's family grew up and lived at Tring Park until the death of the dowager Lady Rothschild in 1935. The house was used by the NM Rothschild & Sons bank during World War II before being taken over by the Arts Educational School (re-named Tring Park School for the Performing Arts) in 1945.

- ENDS -

Media contact

Angie Cronin

Loudbird PR and Communications

Tel: 07970 810302

Email: loudbird@btinternet.com

Instagram: @LoudbirdPR

Twitter: @LoudbirdPR

Facebook: Loudbird PR and Communications

About Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

• Tring Park is one of the UK's top performing arts schools - the majority of pupils forge successful careers in the performing arts.
• Tring Park provides a unique community for talented young people, regardless of means or background, who have both passion and talent for dance, drama, musical theatre or commercial music.
• Tring Park also provides a balanced education and has an outstanding academic record: pupils regularly get into the top universities.
• Tring Park is housed in a former Rothschild mansion in beautiful grounds in Tring, Hertfordshire, and was used as a location (a Russian ballet school) in the 2015 Avengers movie, Age of Ultron and, most recently Judy, the biopic of Judy Garland.

21st October 2019 — Seventeen-year-old Harley Bird who is the voice of Peppa Pig, the global hit kids TV animation series and movie of the same name, is heading east to Singapore and Indonesia this week as part of her school's initiative to spread the word about Theatre in Education.

Harley is an upper sixth student at the prestigious Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire, which boasts a glittering alumni that includes (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Lily James (Mamma Mia Here We Go Again, Disney's Cinderella and War and Peace).

Harley is one of 12 students, who will be taking the school's highly successful Theatre in Education workshops and performances to a number of schools in these two countries, starting off on the Indonesian islands of Nikoi and Bintan where they will be leading workshops and performing a cabaret with Indonesian children.

They will then be heading to Singapore to the Centre Stage School for the Performing Arts, which Tring Park School has close links with, to continue with the Theatre in Education workshops and performances

And for the first time ever, Harley and her fellow Tring Park School students will be doing three public performances of Twelve Angry Men, the stage adaptation of the famous film of 1955 starring Henry Fonda and Lee J Cobb. Harley will be playing the role of Juror No 7.

Talking about the tour, Tring Park School director of acting Edward Applewhite said: "Singapore doesn't have a tradition of Theatre in Education so this is quite ground-breaking for us and we are excited also to contrast this with the gripping jury room drama 12 Angry Men.

"Students will be staying with host families during their visit to give them a real idea of Singapore life.

"And having Harley as one of the students is great for raising the profile of this initiative as Peppa Pig is a global sensation."

Harley will be joined by fellow students Florentia Antoniou, Amber Conroy, Amy Forman, Paige Godman, Kate Goodman, Eleanor Gower, Maria Guguberidze, William Lockey, Nicolas Rodriguez Mayrhofer, Rosalie Roger-Lacan and Louis Swanepoel.

As well as Daisy Ridley and Lily James, Tring Park's glittering alumni includes Jessica Brown-Findlay (Downton Abbey) and director and choreographer Drew McOnie, who won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for his work on In the Heights. Drew has also directed Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom in the West End, and King Kong on Broadway.

Six Tring Park students aged between 15 and 18 performed in the world premiere tour of Sir Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet, which is a passionate and contemporary reimagining of Shakespeare's classic love story.

Joe Griffiths-Brown, who graduated from Tring Park School last summer, has been cast in the role of swing in Hamilton! Joe plays Man 1 and Charles Lee in the musical.

And former student Sofia Oxenham played the new character "feisty" Tess Tregidden in the latest series of BBC One's Poldark.

Tring Park School is both a day and boarding school for students aged eight to 19. Alongside a broad academic curriculum, the school offers courses in dance, acting and musical theatre to learners up to the age of 16. Sixth Form students are able to study Acting, Musical Theatre and Commercial Music up to age 18 while dancers can take a three-year course, graduating at age 19.

www.tringpark.com

About Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

• Tring Park is one of the UK's top performing arts schools - the majority of pupils forge successful careers in the performing arts.
• Tring Park provides a unique community for talented young people, regardless of means or background, who have both passion and talent for dance, drama, musical theatre or commercial music.
• Tring Park also provides a balanced education and has an outstanding academic record: pupils regularly get into the top universities.
• Tring Park is housed in a former Rothschild mansion in beautiful grounds in Tring, Hertfordshire, and was used as a location (a Russian ballet school) in the 2015 Avengers movie, Age of Ultron and, most recently Judy, the biopic of Judy Garland.
  

20th September 2019 — A star of a Netflix series will be taking part in a Q&A session at open days Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in October.

Joe Ashman, who stars in the Netflix series Free Rein, will be attending open days at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts on 4, 10 and 11 October and 8 November.

Ashman, a former Tring Park student, will be answering questions on his life at the school, how it has helped him to pursue a career in showbusiness and what it is like to be starring in a blockbuster Netflix series.

Speaking about Ashman returning to the school for the Q&A sessions, principal Stefan Anderson said: “We are very pleased to welcome Joe back to Tring Park School to find out how his career in performing arts has progressed since he left. It will be really valuable for potential students visiting the school during the open days to find out how our school has provided the foundations for Joe to carve out such a successful career.

“It will also be exciting to hear about what it is like to star in a Netflix series and what the future holds for Joe.”

Ashman is among good company when it comes to alumni that have gone on to great success after their years at Tring Park School.

The school’s glittering alumni include Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), who started her training on the dance course at Tring Park, Lily James (Mamma Mia Here We Go Again, Disney's Cinderella, Downton Abbey and War and Peace), Jessica Brown-Findlay (Downton Abbey) and director and choreographer Drew McOnie, who won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for his work on In the Heights. Drew has also directed Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom in the West End, and King Kong on Broadway.

Six current students aged between 15 and 18 are currently performing in the world premiere tour of Sir Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet, which is a passionate and contemporary reimagining of Shakespeare's classic love story.

Joe Griffiths-Brown, who graduated from Tring Park School last summer, has been cast in the role of swing in Hamilton! The role of swing means that Joe will be covering multiple roles in the musical.

And former student Sofia Oxenham played the new character "feisty" Tess Tregidden in the latest series of BBC One's Poldark.

Tring Park School is both a day and boarding school for students aged eight to 19. Alongside a broad academic curriculum, the school offers courses in dance, acting and musical theatre to learners up to the age of 16. Sixth Form students are able to study Acting, Musical Theatre and Commercial Music up to age 18 while dancers can take a three-year course, graduating at age 19.

tringpark.com/opendays

About Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

• Tring Park is one of the UK's top performing arts schools - the majority of pupils forge successful careers in the performing arts.

• Tring Park provides a unique community for talented young people, regardless of means or background, who have both passion and talent for dance, drama, musical theatre or commercial music.

• Tring Park also provides a balanced education and has an outstanding academic record: pupils regularly get into the top universities.

• Tring Park is housed in a former Rothschild mansion in beautiful grounds in Tring, Hertfordshire, and was used as a location (a Russian ballet school) in the 2015 Avengers movie, Age of Ultron and, most recently Judy, the biopic of Judy Garland.

22nd August 2019 — Tring Park School for the Performing Arts is celebrating fantastic GCSE results, following on from excellent A Level results last week.

Highlights include: 87% of exam entries graded at 9-4 (A*- C) and six subjects had 100% 9-4 (A* - C). Overall 46% of pupils achieved 9-4 (A*-C) grades in all their GCSE subjects.

The school would like to extend congratulations to all pupils on their achievements and in particular to the outstanding achievements of the following pupils:

Jessica Templeton, who achieved four 9s, two A*, one 8 and one 7; 

Aled Oddy, who secured two 9s, one A*, four 8s and one A; 

Hamish Ogilvy, who achieved one 9, two A*, one A, four 8s and one 7

and Sophie McGowan, who achieved one 9, one A*, four 8s and two 7s.

Principal Stefan Anderson said: “Given the many changes to the GCSE curriculum and system we are all impressed by the resilience our pupils have shown in studying for their examinations and the successes they have achieved.

"Our students’ academic results are achieved while managing a dual curriculum with the Performing Arts. They are a testament to the hard work by pupils and staff.”

15th August 2019 — Students at the prestigious Tring Park School for the Performing Arts have a lot to celebrate today after securing a raft of outstanding A Level results.

The class of 2019 saw a rise in the percentage of students gaining an A* to B with 57% of students gaining those grades across all subjects.

Some notable performances include Sorcha Kahn who achieved A*, A*, B in English Literature, History and Chemistry, Mia Rose who got three A grades in Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics and Katie Towner secured a Distinction*, A* A in Cambridge Technical Performing Arts, Drama and Theatre Studies and Psychology.

Stephanie Costi achieved a Distinction*, A*, B in Cambridge Technical Performing Arts, Drama and Theatre Studies and Photography, while Olivia Foskett got A, A, B in English Literature, French and History.

Joanna Fountain secured A, A, B in Mathematics, Music and Further Mathematics and Gabriel Greer, got A*, A, B in Art, Photography and Textiles.

Students leaving Tring Park this year will be going to a variety of destinations at prestigious academic and vocational schools throughout the world, including Sophie Imlach, who will be reading History of Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art, Luke Rozanski, who will be reading Digital Media, Culture and Technology at Royal Holloway and Emily Robins and Stephanie Costi, who will both be reading Musical Theatre at Guildford School of Acting.

Head of Sixth Form Edward Hawkins said: “The class of 2019 have shown an excellent level of resilience this year, achieving highly despite having reduced academic teaching time, due to the dual nature of the curriculum at the school.

“I am once again left amazed by what the students of the school has achieved. The staff and students at the school deserve a huge amount of credit for what has been achieved this year.”

Tring Park's Class of 2019 has an impressive alumni to aspire to with the likes of Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), who started her training on the dance course at Tring Park, Lily James (Mamma Mia Here We Go Again, Disney's Cinderella, Downton Abbey and War and Peace), Jessica Brown-Findlay (Downton Abbey) and director and choreographer Drew McOnie, who won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for his work on In the Heights. Drew has also directed Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom in the West End, and King Kong on Broadway.

Six current students aged between 15 and 18 are currently performing in the world premiere tour of Sir Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet, which is a passionate and contemporary reimagining of Shakespeare's classic love story.

Joe Griffiths-Brown, who graduated from Tring Park School last summer, has been cast in the role of swing in Hamilton! The role of swing means that Joe will be covering multiple roles in the musical.

And former student Sofia Oxenham is currently playing the new character "feisty" Tess Tregidden in the latest series of BBC One’s Poldark

However, there are a number of alumni who have pursued academic careers since leaving Tring Park School including: Adele Pope, who has just qualified as a doctor; Joe Colasanti, who is an interior designer for Ted Baker; Harriet Van der Vliet, who is a quantum engineer at Oxford Instruments; and Rachel Joseph, programme and delivery director for the BBC.

Tring Park School is both a day and boarding school for students aged eight to 19. Alongside a broad academic curriculum, the school offers courses in dance, acting and musical theatre to learners up to the age of 16. Sixth Form students are able to study Acting, Musical Theatre and Commercial Music up to age 18 while dancers can take a three-year course, graduating at age 19.

For school children keen to follow in the footsteps of the class of 2019, there will be open days for 2020 admissions on 4, 10 and 11 October. www.tringpark.com/opendays

About Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

• Tring Park is one of the UK's top performing arts schools - the majority of pupils forge successful careers in the performing arts.

• Tring Park provides a unique community for talented young people, regardless of means or background, who have both passion and talent for dance, drama, musical theatre or commercial music.

• Tring Park also provides a balanced education and has an outstanding academic record: pupils regularly get into the top universities.

• Tring Park is housed in a former Rothschild mansion in beautiful grounds in Tring, Hertfordshire, and was used as a location (a Russian ballet school) in the 2015 Avengers movie, Age of Ultron and, most recently Judy, the biopic of Judy Garland.