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Raynes Park High School - March 2015

Drama – The Dog and the Elephant 

On 5th February, Yr 12 and Yr 13 Performing Arts students visited the disused tunnel underneath Waterloo Station for an exciting and unconventional piece of live theatre. 'The Dog and The Elephant' explored the story of Bare Knuckle Boxer Bendigo Barlow, and his friendship with an elephant. The play charted his struggles with OCD and Tourette's syndrome at a time before these were understood, alongside exploring his tempestuous relationship with the Romany Gypsies. 

It was a hard-hitting account of the ugliness of isolation and the need for acceptance and, as such, was a hugely relevant and rewarding experience. 'The Dog and the Elephant' demonstrated to our aspiring young actors the power and impact that a one man performance can have on an audience.

Feeding in to the method acting processes explored in their lessons, students recognised the influence of widely studied practitioners such as Berkoff, Brecht, Frantic Assembly and Kneehigh. 

Head of Drama - Ms Valmarana 

Ms Ford, Ultimate Frisby Champion - What is Ultimate Frisbee?

It is a fast-paced, non contact team sport where two teams of seven players compete to score goals by catching the disc in the end zone. It is one of the fastest-growing sports in the UK and around the world with over 3500 competing players in the UK alone. 

Law Teacher, Ms Ford says,

"I have been playing Ultimate Frisbee for around 8 years now and yes, it is a real sport! It is a game that is played on a pitch similar to a football pitch and on grass; there are 7 players on each team. Games last for 90 minutes and at a weekend tournament you play around 7 games. It is high intensity and involves a lot of running, jumping, throwing, catching and diving. I represented Great Britain in 2011 winning a Silver Medal at the European Championships and I am off to Dubai to represent GB again at the start of March. My other successes include 3 National Titles and 3 European Titles with my club team Iceni. Ultimate has taken me all over Europe and also to the US and I hope to see many other parts of the world this way in the future."