Photography Students Show Off their Talent at Holy Trinity Church

Strode College students who have been attending evening classes for aspiring photographers will be displaying their work to the public at Holy Trinity Church in Street from 18 - 25 March.

The eight-week course, designed for anyone wishing to improve their digital photography skills,  was originally intended for around a dozen students. It proved so popular that a second session was added, and a total of 36 students signed up.
This is the first event to be hosted by Holy Trinity, who are inviting other organisations to get in touch if they may need a space for an exhibition, a concert or other similar use.  Church Warden Susie Williams said: "We want to open our doors and welcome in the community. The church has not been open until now but will be every lunchtime, and for a token charge, local groups are welcome to hire it at other times."
Strode College are planning to run a series of one-day photography courses throughout the year. Provisional titles include:

• Introduction to Digital Photography
• Introduction to Photoshop
• Improving Your Holiday Snaps; Photo Restoration
• Photographing Documents and other techniques for Family Historians

Historic and wildlife instructed photography tours are other possibilities - and there may be a chance to become a 'press photographer' for a day!
The eight-week evening courses will be running again from October and January 2012

Go ‘Back to the 80s’ with Strode Students

Students from across Strode College are pulling on their leg-warmers and dusting off their Rubik Cubes in preparation for their annual musical production.  'Back to the Eighties' runs from 8 to 11 March at Strode Theatre in Street, and features the talents of over 40 students.

This sparkling new musical tells the story of Corey Palmer and his friends as they complete their graduating year at William Ocean High School.  Corey is in love with Tiffany, but Tiffany loves Michael, the coolest guy in the school.  As the school year progresses with student elections, the arrival of new girl Eileen and a charity concert, the show follows the teenage trials and tribulations of the school seniors.  After successfully organising the concert and the ensuing party, Corey's popularity is growing.  Michael and his friends take their teasing of Eileen a little too far and face the wrath of school geek Fergal McFerrin III, a secret student of the martial arts!  Michael gets his just desserts, Tiffany sees the light and Corey gets his girl.

The show features a score of retro-classics accompanied by an eight-piece live band, including 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,' 'Man in the Mirror' and 'We Are the World'.

Charmaine Bray, Performing Arts Lecturer at Strode said: "Every year students and staff pull out all the stops to make the musical production one of our highlights.  There will be so much talent on show - singing, acting, dance and music - and lot of hard work and dedication behind the scenes.  We're really looking forward to showing what we can do and I'm hoping for a great audience turnout to support our young performers."
Tickets can be booked at the Strode Theatre box office: 01458 442846 or at: http://www.strodetheatre.co.uk/.  Ticket cost £8, £6 full concession and £5 for Strode students