On Friday, September 13th, the Spotlight students at Northampton Academy welcomed Northampton Mayor Paul Joyce for the opening of the new Amphitheatre in the woodland area behind the school. The weather was pleasant, and it was a wonderful afternoon of music, drama, poetry, and spoken word. The Spotlight students were a considerate and enthusiastic audience, and there was complete silence when the mayor cut the red ribbon!

After the grand opening, the audience enjoyed fantastic solo performances from Alana, Hope, Phoenix, Lottie, and Keith, as well as two group performances from Eden, Ellie, Lilly, Erin, Lottie, and Zoey. Students then had the opportunity to chat with the mayor and our Performing Arts teachers, and most importantly, they had time to get to know each other better while enjoying some lovely canapés provided by our brilliant catering team.

Michelle Henry-Moore, acting Head of Performing Arts said:

"It was fantastic to see all of our new Spotlight students and our older Performing Arts students coming to celebrate the opening of our amphitheatre. I know I speak for all the Performing Arts Staff at Northampton Academy when I say that we were so proud of those who performed at the opening. The space is amazing, and we cannot wait to welcome our first public audience later this year."

After the event, students commented:

"We really enjoyed seeing the different acts, especially listening to the singers and flute."

"We loved watching the acting as the students were really in the role. We also loved meeting the Mayor of Northampton."

"The amphitheatre's location is great; it is secluded and in the woods. We are excited to have workshops and lessons out there."

Please see the photo gallery below and a video showing snippets of the performances using this link: https://youtu.be/5pMEWGOs9CI