EDUCATION EDITION
PERFECT HARMONY (Above) The arts at Stoke College are a priority due to the effect on pupils’ confidence
already offered; A-levels will be added from this autumn. And then there’s the dazzling array of productions which span different styles and eras, from Shakespeare to Molière to Dickens. “We produce at least seven performances every year, with a junior show (years 7 and 8), year 9 play, year 10 play and senior production (years 11 to 13), drama scholar’s performance, dance show and summer cabaret,” reveals John Johnson, the director of drama and theatre at The Leys. While the sheer number of shows at The Leys is awe-inspiring, each gets the same level of attention and planning. That’s true whether it’s Grimm Tales , taking place this summer and featuring the combined forces of pupils in years 7 and 8, or an immersive year 10 promenade production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream earlier this year, where the audience moved to different spaces during the performance. The Leys runs a backstage company that’s led by professional technicians who support pupils to become stage managers, deputy stage managers, lighting, sound, set, costume and makeup designers. “All our shows are co-managed with the pupil backstage company operating lights, sound and helping to stage manage,” says John.
Ambition – and inclusion – also feature strongly at Stoke College. The Lion King , this year’s production for younger pupils in years 7 to 9, will involve a modern catwalk staging in the school’s stunning walled garden, with the audience on either side. It’s a deliberately challenging production that helps prepare pupils to play a bigger role (dramatic and leadership) in whole- school shows in their senior years. For Joanna Davey, ensuring that there’s a role for everyone who wants to be involved is one of the keys to success, encouraging students who may not yet feel ready for an acting role to participate behind the scenes. “I get them involved technically, helping backstage so they can see the environment and become part of the team,” she states. With around a third of the pupils at Stoke College taking part in School of Rock , the most recent whole-school production, it’s an approach that’s clearly paying off. The creative curriculum At Perse Prep, drama lessons – a ring- fenced non-negotiable – are timetabled for every year group. Pupils might work with masks, each reflecting a different emotion – like fear or happiness – and work out how to portray it through body language, while children in year 5 learn how to create a silent movie, managing timing, comedy and character, then screening the results. Productions, as you’d expect, are extremely ambitious; the ethos is ‘drama for all’. Clare comments: “Everyone is expected to perform in every production.” But it’s sensitively done: “Obviously, we have children who absolutely love it and children who don’t, so it’s about casting it right to give those children who want
JAZZ HANDS (Right) The Perse and (left) The Leys believe drama is for every child
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