Sarah Redfern High School

Strength through Learning

Telephone02 9820 1566

Emailsarahredfe-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Creative arts

In creative arts, students discover a variety of art forms through a study of dance, drama, music and visual arts.

Studying the creative arts, students learn to appreciate, compose, listen, make and perform. Each art form has its own unique knowledge and skills, elements or concepts as well as a capacity to inspire and enrich lives.

Students must study 100 hours of both music and visual arts during Years 7 to 10. They also have an opportunity to further develop their knowledge and skills in other art forms through elective subjects including drama, dance, photography and visual design. Students can then select from a range of courses in Years 11 to 12.

Visual Arts

Sarah Redfern High School students have an opportunity to study Visual Arts from Year 7 to Year 12.  All Year 7 and Year 8 students undertake the Mandatory Course in Visual Arts.  Elective courses in Visual Arts and Photography and Digital Media are available in Stage 5.

In the senior school, Visual Arts is offered as a Preliminary Higher School Certificate and Higher School Certificate course.  Students may also undertake a course of studies in Photography, Video and Digital Imaging and Visual Design.

Over the six years of studies traditional and contemporary media are explored, including painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, digital photomedia, installation and performance art.  Our students' art making is supported by a rigorous program of Art History and Criticism.

Music

Sarah Redfern High School offers Music from Years 7 to 12, and encourages students in both theoretical and practical disciplines of the subject. In the Middle School (Years 7 and 8), students undertake instruction in both keyboard and guitar with the goal of encouraging them to develop their technical and performing skills. In Stage 5, both Year 9 and 10 are combined in an intensive course that covers 200 hours of study in a single year. This is the fourth year that the school has embarked on this method and the results have been very pleasing. Students have improved greatly in their ability to perform as a part of a group, and have also taken great strides in developing their own abilities as solo performers. The flow on effect of this has been a tremendous increase in the quality of performances in both school activities, and community based events. In Stage 6, Year 11 and 12 take part in the Music 1 course. Although it is not compulsory, it is advised that students wishing to select this subject in senior years have at the very least, a basic knowledge of music, theory and are competent in at least one musical instrument.


Over the last few years, the program has been very successful, particularly with respect to preparing our students to perform, both at school and in community events. We have had a tradition of having students selected for the South Western Region Talent Identification Program while it was running. In recent years our students have represented their school with distinction at a number of different events, including Fire in the Fields concerts, The Minto Park opening, the ABCN Thank You Dinner in Darling Harbour. Representatives of our school have also performed Christmas Carols as a part of the Minto Community of Schools initiative in both Minto Marketplace, Pembroke Lodge and Minto On The Go Carols in the Park.