PEOPLE are being invited to enjoy the varied arts programme which takes place each year at one of East Hampshire’s most prestigious schools.

Bedales has its own theatre within the school grounds which puts on performances not just from its students but from well-known performers from across the country.

Whether it’s a play, a musical, a concert, a dance act or a talk, the theatre has a lot to offer the community.

Yet Phil Tattersall-King, director of drama, dance and the Bedales events programme, fears many people don’t know the 300-seater theatre in the grounds of the Steep school exists.

He said: “Things are growing and changing as they always do. We have got a really strong community.

“Our theatre isn’t so well known in the local community. But the people that come here are incredibly loyal. We get a lot of repeat customers.

“Our students are absolutely phenomenal. But we appreciate that people need to know the difference between home grown acts and the international touring acts.”

Some of the forthcoming artists include the Hackney Colliery Band, who played at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in London in 2012.

They have also performed live on the radio and at prestigious awards ceremonies in the UK.

Now, they will be performing at the school’s theatre on Friday, November 10.

Meanwhile, two award-winning poets will be reading works on Thursday, November 23 as Patience Agbabi and Tim Turnbull visit the theatre.

Students at the school are preparing to perform in the musical Spring Awakening from Monday, December 5, to Wednesday, December 7.

Mr Tattersall-King added: “I am incredibly proud of our students and what they achieve and I am incredibly proud to bring international acts to a different audience.

“It’s so written into what we do here. For the students, they are aware of the expectations and they are aware of where their work sits in terms of what’s out there already.

“That’s what makes us really strong. We know about the ecology of the arts and where we sit within that.

“I wouldn’t be here if the arts wasn’t what we are about.”

To find out about the programme for the rest of this year and into 2018 or to book tickets, visit the website: www.bedalesevents.co.uk