Drama provides students with the opportunity to develop their communication and problem solving skills while increasing an understanding of themselves and those around them through practical activity. At Woodroffe we believe passionately in the value of drama for all, not just those who want to pursue a career in the performing arts. The skills acquired and developed in drama lessons are both subject specific and life skills, sometimes referred to as ‘transferable skills’. We also aim to build an appreciation of drama and theatre performance and its social, cultural and historical context.

Assessment

We assess all the students at various points throughout the academic year. Students are regularly given the
opportunity to self and peer assess, most lessons involve whole class and group discussion, group work, sharing of practical work and evaluation of some kind. Students are given feedback that set appropriate targets and give them next steps to take. Summative assessments are made in line with the school reporting cycle.

Facilities

The Woodroffe School has an excellent purpose built Drama Studio, which is versatile for performance work and an inspiring space to work in for lessons. A’ level and GCSE exam performances take place in the drama studio where we have the facility to use theatrical lighting. In the past the space has been used for theatre-in-the-round, traverse and promenade performances to name but a few. Woodroffe also has a traditional school hall and stage which is used for our bi-annual whole school musical. We also have access to a dance studio with mirrors.

Extra Curricular

School musical – working closely with the music department we stage a whole school musical every other year. Auditions are held in the autumn term and rehearsals start in the January for a performance week in the first week of July. We usually have between eighty and a hundred and twenty students involved either as performers, back stage crew, technical crew, set designers and makers or musicians. The textiles department always provide us with outstanding costumes. The production is an important event in school life and we always aim to make it a quality piece, we take it seriously and aim high. Students really value the experience of being involved both in terms of the skills and experience they acquire but also socially, as many friends are made across the year groups and great fun is had by all. It is hard work too of course! Unfortunately there will be no school production in 2021 due to Covid 19 but we very much hope that in January 2022 we are able to start rehearsals on our next show which will be ‘Annie’. Previous shows that we have put on are:

• School of Rock – 2019
• The Little Shop of Horrors – 2017
• Grease – 2015
• Bugsy – 2013
• We Will Rock You – 2011
• The Wizard of Oz – 2009
• Return to the Forbidden Planet – 2007
• Little Shop of Horrors – 2005
• Oliver – 2003

Year 7 Drama Club – at the start of the autumn we run a drama club for the Year 7, twice a week after school just until the October half term. In this time we create an ensemble performance lasting about ten minutes which is performed at the ‘Meet My Tutor’ evening towards the end of October, in front of a massive audience of Year 7 parents. There is always a large take up for this and so we enlist the help of A’ level drama students. This provides an early opportunity for new students who enjoy the creative arts to get involved in something exciting and meaningful in their first half term at Woodroffe. Our last performance used a poem by Maya Angelou ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’.

Every year at the end of the autumn term all of the Year 7 with their tutors, co-tutors and year head are taken to watch a professional pantomime. We usually go to the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil, last year it was ‘Snow White’ described as ‘magical’ by one of our year 7. The Year 7 spend the second half of the autumn term exploring the pantomime genre in their lessons, looking at for example, silent comedy and slapstick and so watching a pantomime is a great way to finish off this project.

Year 8 and 9 Drama clubs are also run at different times and on different themes and skills.

GCSE and A level exam work is rehearsed at lunch times and after school.

In the past we have taken part in the Shakespeare Schools Festival and NT Connections. We also always take up the offer of theatre practitioners coming in to run workshops with our students. Recently Told by an Idiot were performing ‘Heads Will Roll’ at The Marine Theatre and we were offered a free school workshop exploring the production and the style the company work in. Last year we were lucky enough to be offered a workshop from Splendid Theatre Company on Christopher Marlowe and Spendid’s Brechtian style of working.

Theatre Centre visit us every year with a performance of their current production, they are an excellent theatre company, based in London, who always produce stimulating and inspiring theatre for young people. All our drama students from year 9 upwards watch the Theatre Centre productions and then we use that experience in drama lessons in all sorts of exciting ways.

Theatre trips – we feel that it isn’t possible to develop into really successful drama students without regular trips to the theatre. We have a very positive relationship with our local theatre, The Marine, in Lyme Regis and regularly see interesting and wide ranging performances there. We also go to larger theatres in the South West such as The Theatre Royal, Plymouth, Bristol Old Vic and the Northcott, Exeter, where we recently saw ‘Malory Towers’ by Wise Children.’ We also go to London for experiences of for example, the West End where we saw ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ last year and The National Theatre. Theatre companies that we particularly admire and try and see, especially with our A’ level students are Theatre Alibi, Angel Exit, Splendid, Kneehigh, Frantic Assembly, Actors of Dionysus, Shared experience and Cheek by Jowl.