Pupils at The Hammond School in Chester, Cheshire

Welcome to The Hammond

Contact Update

Following Government advice, the Hammond school premises are currently closed and schooling has moved to distance learning. If you would like to contact Hammond School staff, please email contact@thehammondschool.co.uk as emails will be checked regularly throughout the day.

18.03.2020 Update

Dear all

May I take this opportunity to thank every member of our Hammond community for your support as we navigate through challenging and unprecedented times.

A few moments ago the Prime Minister ordered for all schools and colleges in England to close on Friday, 20th March for the foreseeable.

We will follow this advice. This means that face to face learning will move to distance learning; The Hammond's physical site will not be operational beyond Friday, 20th March. More information will follow as regards this method of education.

You may also be aware that the government has suspended GCSE and AS/ A Level exams. At this time this means that exams have been postponed, not cancelled; we therefore urge pupils and students in exam groups to continue to prepare.

As yet we have no date for a return to our usual way of working.

Classes will continue to run as usual until 3.45pm on Friday, 20th March. If, however, you need to collect your son/ daughter earlier we are more than happy to work with you to accommodate. Please can I ask for all parents to email contact@thehammondschool.co.uk to advise collection times. We have all members of staff on stand-by to assist with issues or challenges.

You will of course appreciate that this decision is very difficult, and we will do everything in our power to ensure education and training continues, albeit in a different way.

We hope to move back to face to face learning immediately following the Easter break, and will keep you updated on this.

Pupils have been informed of this decision and, on behalf of our community here, I would like to thank each pupil for their maturity, support, and wonderful attitude - they are a credit to you.

Thank you again, and we will be in touch soon with further updates.

Best Wishes

Jennifer Roscoe

Principal

17.03.2020 Update

Please read below for an update from Principal Roscoe with regards to current events.

The Hammond continues to prioritise the safety and well-being of its entire community above all else.

We continue to follow daily advice from Public Health England and the Department for Education.

Please be assured that we have no suspected and no confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Currently The Hammond's lower school remains open.

However, The Hammond has taken the decision to suspend all face to face learning for senior students on year 1 and 2 of the Professional courses and on the Post-16 Drama courses as of this evening.

Graduates on the third year of the Professional course have the option to attend tomorrow to complete any outstanding showcase work.

The Hammond staff are following a student action plan to enable all students to continue with their learning. This will be undertaken through a distance learning platform; students are advised to use school emails to communicate should they have any issues with this system.

We will do all that we can to minimise disruption and to clarify the arrangements for programmes of study. We ask all senior students to monitor emails and social media platforms for further instructions.

We will review the situation during the first week of the Easter break and will inform all senior students of our plans to return to face to face learning.

We urge senior students to return home at this time, but understand this may not be possible. Please can all senior students inform the school office (via email) of their accommodation plans at this time.

We thank you for your understanding and support; staff are available to discuss any issues that may arise.

With best wishes

Jennifer Roscoe

Principal

16.03.2020 Update

Please read below for an update from Principal Roscoe with regards to current events.

The Hammond prioritises the safety and well-being of its entire community above all else. We continue to follow daily advice from Public Health England and the Department for Education. Current advice is that no education setting should close in response to a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case, unless advised to do so by Public Health England. The Hammond has no suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The Prime Minister's briefing this afternoon advised people to self-isolate for 14 days if they, or anyone in their household, has a high temperature or a new and continuous cough. We will follow this advice for all of our pupils, students, and staff.

We urge all members of our community to follow advice as regards washing hands and the Catch it, Bin it, Kill it advice for sneezing and coughing. We are encouraged to try not to touch our eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

If you have any concerns or questions please do contact a member of the office who will be more than happy to support.

Thank you again,

Jennifer Roscoe

Principal

Welcome to The Hammond...

The North West’s leading provider of Performing Arts education and the UK’s oldest vocational dance school.

As Principal of The Hammond I am proud and humbled every day at the way our young people thrive both vocationally and academically. The Hammond offers a rich educational diet, leading to outstanding academic qualifications, first-rate vocational training, as well as guidance and support to ensure all pupils and students develop into responsible, caring and thoughtful members of the community.

Here at The Hammond, we are passionate about supplying the best possible vocational training in dance, drama and music, alongside an enriching academic curriculum. We offer a stimulating and challenging creative environment in which we actively encourage young people to adopt an individual learning style that will enable them to flourish and prosper in their chosen discipline. At the Hammond, young people are fully supported to explore and reach their potential, whilst recognising the importance of cooperation, tolerance and friendship. We recognise and value achievement; alumni from The Hammond can be seen performing and teaching in companies and schools across the globe.

Housed in the historic Hoole Bank House and surrounded by beautifully landscaped grounds, our campus comprises a Performing Arts Centre with a 420-seat theatre and state-of-the-art dance and music studios.

We are a vibrant, exciting, progressive and nurturing environment that offers many diverse opportunities for young people aged 11 - 19. We are also delighted to offer a BA (Hons) course in Musical Theatre Performance, in collaboration with the University of Chester.

If you are interested in discovering more about The Hammond please do contact us and arrange for a tour.

Jennifer Roscoe BA MA Oxon, PGCE, SLE

Principal

Lower School
(11-16 years)

From Years 7 to 11, The Hammond supplies specialist vocational courses in either dance, drama or music, taught alongside a full academic programme culminating in GCSE examinations. We welcome both day and boarding students.

Upper School
(16 Years+)

We offer Trinity College London’s three year National Diplomas in Dance and Musical Theatre. We also offer a two year BTEC Diploma Level 3 in Performing Arts (acting). Upper School courses are taught alongside optional A Levels.

BA (Hons)
Degree

Our BA (Hons) course in Musical Theatre & Performance is run by The Hammond in conjunction with the University of Chester. This three-year Bachelor of Arts prepares graduates for the musical theatre industry at a professional level.

Read some of our student testimonials and see what they have
to say about their experience of studying with The Hammond.

Drama Testimonials Dance Testimonials