UAE: Repton Al Barsha, part of the prestigious Repton Family of Schools in the UAE, celebrated students’ creative thinking on Saturday, 9th October 2021, in thought-provoking visual arts, music and performance arts showcased at the Theatre of Digital Arts (TODA) in Madinat Jumeirah.

Themed ‘Individual Identity, Collective Identity and School Life’, the 20-minute digital art exhibition explored the creativity of Repton Al Barsha’s aspiring young artists from Year 1 to Year 9. Through observational drawings, school-life representations in the form of self portraits, musical contributions and poetry recitations, students were able to display their artworks in the public arena. The unique art exhitbition also highlighted Repton Al Barsha as the first UAE school to host a digital art exhibition at TODA.

The Repton Family of Schools in the UAE has been an avid practioner and supporter of empowering students’ educational avenues, previously partnering with Dubai Cares to provide students with easy access to quality education; raising over AED 370,000 to build three schools in Senegal, Africa.

Repton Al Barsha will follow in the footsteps of its sister school; donating all proceeds raised from the event, totalling AED 9,000 / NPR 293,928, towards a noble initiative in partnership with Dubai Cares – ‘Adopt A School’. The Barsha campus will attribute the funds to spread the power of education by building and renovating schools in Nepal.

Repton Al Barsha proactively incorporates innovation within its teaching methodologies to continuously improve student learning experiences. The exhibition of its students’ artistic accomplishments seamlessly complements TODA objectives – as the UAE’s first digital walk through art space, it uses immersive and breathtaking digital shows with high-end technologies accompanied by classical art, stunning music, visual effects and surround sound, to highlight contemporary and modern art forms.

Zoe Woolley, Headmistress of Repton Al Barsha says, “At Repton Al Barsha, our diverse and inclusive curriculum focuses on enhancing students’ skills in the languages, academics, sports, culture, creative arts and more; developing the whole child. The Reptonian vision combines digital agency with academia and creative arts to prepare students to succeed in a forward thinking world. We are pleased with the resounding success of the exhibition, with parents and guests appreciating the exemplary creative outcomes of the students’ hard work.”

Reptonians drew inspiration from world renowned contemporary artists to interpret their individual identities and their collective identity as Repton Al Barsha. The Year 4 aspiring artists explored the colour patterns by contemporary Canadian artists, such as, Sandra Silberzweig to present observational drawings, creating still life representations of school life at the Al Barsha campus. Students from Year 5 depicted the artwork of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, revered for her self portraits and works inspired by nature, to create beautiful self portraits.

Year 6 Reptonians delved into the works of surrealist artist, René Magritte, bringing to life a surreal twist to artistic interpretations. Creative enthusiasts from Year 7 developed artworks referencing current pop-art styles and techniques, selecting images from pop-culture, creating digital collages of their modern-day inspirations.

Following the recent rebrand of the school from Foremarke School to Repton Al Barsha, approximately 300 attendees including parents and students, representating the Repton Al Barsha community experienced the ‘We Are Repton Al Barsha’ art exhibition, coming together as a community to celebrate student achievements and support in developing the education system in Nepal.

For further information on students creative collaborations, please visit the Repton Al Barsha website: https://www.reptonalbarsha.org/