Exciting plans have been unveiled for a brand new Performing Arts Centre at Oswestry School. The £2.4m project will see the school’s Memorial Hall transformed into a state-of-the-art 160 seat auditorium and will include an expanded facility with a new foyer and multi-purpose studio spaces for the benefit of pupils and members of the local community.
Oswestry School enjoys a strong reputation for excellence in the Performing Arts with pupils in both the Prep School and the Senior School provided with opportunities within - and beyond - the curriculum in dance, drama and music. The school likewise plays an active role in the community in providing opportunities within the Performing Arts, most notably its Dance Academy which caters for over 120 youngsters from the local community aged 2-18 who benefit from weekly lessons and numerous dance performances throughout the year.
Headmaster Peter Middleton commented:
“This is a bold and ambitious project, and one that we are passionate about, placing the Performing Arts at the heart of our school and providing our local community with a new theatre and performance venue within walking distance of the centre of the town of Oswestry. The stage is set for an exciting new facility for our school and our town, and we are greatly looking forward to bringing the vision into reality.”
The designs for the new facility are the masterwork of award-winning architects Levitt Bernstein who bring a wealth of experience working on similar school projects and are likewise behind the world-class concert venue The Bristol Beacon and the iconic Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre. They have delivered on the brief to create a dynamic and exciting new facility in keeping with the historic surroundings of the school campus with a strong architectural dialogue between the new Performing Arts Centre and the adjacent school chapel and main School House building.
With a planned opening for September 2026, curtains will go up as Oswestry marks the 250th anniversary of the school’s relocation to its present day site; having been founded in 1407 and existed during its formative years in the Old School building in the grounds of St Oswald’s Church, Oswestry School relocated to Upper Brook Street in 1776 with the expansion of the school. Its transformation in 2026 will be a fitting 250th birthday present!
Director of Performing Arts Claire Thompson commented:
“Oswestry School has a long and rich history of Performing Arts provision. With an inspirational, energetic and professional team in place supported by our outstanding peripatetic teachers, Performing Arts at Oswestry School is in an exciting phase. As the school's Performing Arts Academy celebrates its 10th anniversary, it is the perfect time to announce that a new community facility is on the way. I am both excited and immensely proud to be championing the arts for the Oswestry community.”
Fundraising has already begun in earnest, and through the philanthropic generosity of a lead donor and other sources of funding, over half of the cost of the project has already been raised.
The new Performing Arts Centre marks an exciting new chapter in the school’s long and storied history, and follows on the back of an excellent ISI inspection this year and recent campus developments including a new school library, a refurbished Sixth Form Centre, and a brand new co-educational Sixth Form boarding house due for opening in September 2024.
