Staff surprise students with live leavers’ video performance at Prom!
It was a night to remember for the students at Richmond School’s Year 11 Prom, with all the glamour, glitz and pizazz of the Moulin Rouge, stunning dresses, sharp, swanky suits and bags of fun. However, it was a cleverly-crafted and executed surprise that made this night extra special and unique!
Staff had been working behind the scenes to create the eagerly-awaited leavers’ video and the germ of a genius idea took shape and quickly turned into reality – the final scene of the video would be filmed live, on stage, at the Prom. It was a risk, but the staff pulled it off, with a polished, energy-rich performance – Richmond School has a cast of The Greatest Showman that Hugh Jackman would be proud of! The film was choreographed by Lead Dance Teacher, Danni Fox, with Jenna Potter, Headteacher, stepping up to the lead role, supported by a team of staff who danced, juggled, hula-hooped, can-canned and cart-wheeled: this was a colourful, action-packed and often hilarious interpretation of The Greatest Showman, ready to enjoy at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD7HbBVHzH8
The video was directed by Sam Weston, Lead Learning Manager, and Emma Dunwoodie, Assistant Headteacher. The filming was in the professional and creative hands of Adam Boulton-Lear, Lead Teacher of Media Studies, with fantastic editing, culminating in the daring live finale, which totally stunned the 201 Year 11 Prom-goers – it was a surprise that had been kept under wraps and had an enormous impact and fabulous audience reaction, all captured on the film. Sam Weston commented: “Staff have put a huge amount of hard work into the video, practising in their own time to perfect the routines. Their dedication has been amazing and shows how much they respect and value the students to make their last few hours at Richmond School unforgettable.”
Once the excitement from the live performance died down it quickly built up again for the Prom Awards. Students were nominated by staff for awards that were based around the school’s values of creativity, excellence, independence, respect, resilience and teamwork. In addition, a special accolade was awarded for Sports Personality of the Year, won by Josh Coburn, who has secured a scholarship with Middlesbrough Football Club.
Jenna Potter, Headteacher, concluded: “The Prom was a superb, celebratory evening for our students and the staff were honoured to make it even more special for them – I have never heard of a school including live footage of the Prom within a leavers’ video, it was a fabulous yet risky undertaking, but the result was incredible and I am so proud of everyone for pulling it off in such style!”
Richmond School’s Greatest Showman leavers’ video is just waiting to be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD7HbBVHzH8