Just before half term, the Music department hosted their second ‘Open Mic Night’ of the year.

​​​​​​​The idea of the event is to give any pupil, regardless of background or ability, the opportunity to perform in an informal environment to friends, family and staff. Pupils sign up for a slot at the event and are responsible for preparing their own performance for the evening.

This is a new event at Bethany, with the first one being hosted in October. The first event was a huge success and created a real buzz in the department as pupils had only ever had the chance to perform at one of our bigger-scale events we host throughout the year. The idea of trying out a song or a piece of music that is still a work in progress in an informal environment was really appealing to many of our pupils, especially in some of the younger years. This has further fuelled a love for performing in many of our pupils, but it has also sparked a new love for performing in some pupils who may have never experienced it before.

By the time the second event came around, the music department was already over-capacity with the number of performers wanting to sign up which means the event has now begun to develop a big reputation at Bethany.

There were twelve acts in total for the most recent event, all of which were outstanding. Particular highlights of the evening included: Charlie Morrell, Kit Hunter and Sam Harman in Year 9 performing a cover of a Jimi Hendrix classic; James Caney in Year 10 captivating his audience with his rendition of Billy Paul’s, “Me and Mrs Jones”; and of course who could forget one of our youngest performers of the evening, Thomas Marron in Year 8 receiving one of the loudest cheers of the evening for his incredibly confident cover of “It’s Not Unusual” by the legendary Tom Jones.

The event seems to be growing in popularity and we are already looking forward to the final Open Mic Night of the year taking place on Thursday 21st May at 7pm in the Music School.