Online from 18th December 2017
On site from 21st July to 11th August 2018 (22 days)
Ages 11 to 15

Uppingham

Uppingham School (founded 1584) is a prestigious English boarding school of the ‘public school tradition’ located in the quaint market town of Uppingham, Rutland. We stay in our own boarding house, with students staying in dormitories. Students also have access to the school’s excellent education and drama facilities.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive at Heathrow Airport

Day 2: Visit Stonehenge and the Roman baths at Bath, Somerset

Day 3: Exeter Cathedral

Day 4: St Ives

Day 5: Performance at the Minack Theatre

Day 6: Tintagel

Day 7: St Michael’s Mount

Day 8:  Gawain and the Green Knight, Poltimore House

Day 9: Bristol

Day 10: Explore Uppingham

Day 11: Cambridge and Ely

Day 12: Stratford-upon-Avon

Day 13: Tolethorpe

Day 14: Oxford

Day 15: Ironbridge and Blists Hill

Day 16: Wasdale Water

Day 17: Dove Cottage

Day 18: Arthur Ransom’s Lakes

Day 19: Morecambe

Day 20: Reflections at Wasdale

Day 21: Family Day at Wasdale Hall

Day 22: Return to Heathrow

Allen Martin, a second-generation history teacher, educated at Manchester Grammar School and Oxford University, is currently Head of History at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Penrith, Cumbria. He is also the coordinator for Oxbridge applications and for the school’s Gifted and Talented program, managing the progress of the most capable students.

Toria Banks is a working director, dramaturg and playwright. She is Resident Director at Trinity Laban Conservatoire and was for the past five years Senior Tutor in acting at Arts Educational Schools, London. She graduated with a distinction in Theatre Directing from Royal Holloway having previously graduated with a degree in Medieval Literature from Oxford University.

James Jobbins is a second-generation teacher on both sides of his family. He previously taught secondary school English Language and Literature in Oxfordshire before working as Director of Soong Ching Ling School Multicultural Division, a beacon government school in Shanghai, China. He is the founder and Managing Director of Studio Education. James holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Applied Educational Management from the Institute of Education, London, and is a graduate of Oxford University.

Pete Murgatroyd is Resident Artist at Air Studio, Falmouth University, an ideas incubator where he researches visual communication for education, business and the third sector. He graduated with an MA in Illustration from the Falmouth School of Art having previously graduated with a first degree in Art from Leeds Metropolitan University.

Sarah White graduated from Kingston University in Drama and Film in 2004. She spent the next few years performing at smaller venues in and around London, and spent her summers at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. A country girl at heart, she moved back to Devon in 2009. In 2011, she directed Doug Wright’s Quills at the Barnfield for Exeter Alternative Theatre, which drew large audiences and received widespread critical acclaim. Outside of Four Of Swords, Sarah continues to pursue other directorial projects, such as Skin Deep for Substance and Shadow Theatre, which won rave reviews and sold out at The Bike Shed. Additionally, she continues to develop her acting career, most recently returning to work with Jane Bennett and Nightshade Theatre and appearing in short films, Seeing Red and The Sqweakening.

Philip Kingslan John was born and brought up in Exeter. He studied English at Cambridge before spending some years teaching in such exotic and romance-ridden locations as Mongolia, Japan and… Newport, South Wales. Phil returned to Exeter and became embroiled in the theatre. He made his directorial debut in 2009 with Ted Hughes’ Alcestis, produced by the Farringdon Society of Arts. In addition to his adventures with Four of Swords, Phil has continued to work with EAT, writing for 2012’s A Dark Victorian Cabaret, an extract from which was performed on BBC Radio Devon, and directing for 2013’s Summer of Terror tour. In December 2014, he featured as a singing shepherd in The Bluebirds‘ Christmas Mysteries.

Support Staff

Our support staff are responsible for pastoral care, offering supportive, nurturing guidance, led by Cameron Parsons, who has had experience in supervision for Studio on the Story of England trip under James and Sarah Jobbins. Student to-staff ratios for supervision are based on a maximum of fifteen-to-two. Quite apart from managing itineraries, routes, and health and safety, Cameron and his team provide quality input during independent study, as well as offering cultural reference points for students to make the most of their learning. We can additionally assure all parents that there will be at all times a mix of male and female staff members should a student only feel comfortable approaching someone of the gender with an issue.

The Story of England 2018 is hosted and delivered by Studio Education’s school partner, Carfax College.