Drama Partnerships

Each Friday afternoon a specialist Drama Teacher and a group of Sixth Form Drama Students run Drama sessions with local Primary schools involving children of various ages and abilities.

Aims

To develop a mutually beneficial partnership between the two schools with a particular focus on specialist drama lessons. We aim to build the children's skills, confidence and enjoyment of drama and where possible to link it with relevant curriculum topics. These sessions deliver Drama in a fun and interactive way encouraging pupils to collaborate and share ideas, which develop their interpersonal skills such as teamwork, confidence and empathy. Sixth Form Drama students have the opportunity to develop their performance and teaching skills and act as role models.

Background

This project started several years ago and is especially appreciated by schools that don't have their own specialist drama departments and performance spaces. 

Resources

The Head of Partnership coordinates the programme that is run by a specialist Drama teacher who is timetabled for this Partnership activity every Friday afternoon. The school provides transport (minibus or taxi) for the drama group to get to their Friday placement or studio space if the Primary School prefers to come to our school.

Impact

The Sixth Formers complete a feed-back form about their experience at the end of each year which we use to regularly assess the benefits of the programme. The Partnership school groups are asked for feedback on the experiences and benefits of the activity for their pupils.

Pupil Involvement

Every Friday afternoon we have a group of between 15-30 Partnership Primary Puplis attending the Drama lessons. The sessions are led by a St Albans School Drama teacher and a group of Sixth Form Drama students.

Frequency

Ongoing project, every Friday afternoon during term time. The drama group attends a different school each half term during the school year.