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26 March 2024
Conservatoires are specialist higher education institutions focused on the performing arts. They aim to prepare students for their future careers by providing a vocation and performance orientation. Unlike most traditional university courses students often attend for full days, Monday to Friday.
Caitlinn Dinneen, Head Girl at Burgess Hill Girls, joined the school as a Drama and Academic Scholar in Year 7. She has received an offer to study Musical Theatre at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Poppy Negus, who joined in the Sixth Form, has an offer to study Acting at Leeds Conservatoire.
The pair have formed a strong bond through their love of drama. They help to run drama clubs for younger students at Burgess Hill Girls and recently shared the role of Eponine in the school’s production of Les Misérables. They have also been supporting each other in their applications to drama schools and are each other’s biggest fans.
Caitlinn said of Poppy:
“Poppy is such an incredible performer, when she acts it feels so genuine and not like she is ‘pretending’ to be the character. She has an exceptional range; in the span of three months, I watched her go from playing the teenage boy bully Mark in ‘DNA’, to the puppet Pinocchio in ‘Shrek the Musical’.”
Poppy said of Caitlinn:
“Caitlinn has shown throughout her time at Burgess Hill Girls her passion and excellence for performance. She is incredibly talented, and her voice transfixes every audience whether she be performing as Eponine in Les Mis or in choir performances and showcases.”
Emma Cassim, Director of Drama at Burgess Hill Girls, could not be prouder of the girls:
“Applications to Conservatoires can be as competitive as Oxbridge, so Caitlinn and Poppy have done extremely well with their offers from Trinity Laban and Leeds. It is testament to their talent, but also to their determination and effort. They are fantastic role models to our younger drama students. We will greatly miss them both but cannot wait to see what they will achieve in the future.”
