DRAMA DEPARTMENT GUIDE TO ONE-TO-ONE LAMDA LESSONS
A message from the Head of Drama...
Welcome to the Drama Department here at SWPS.
We give our students access to all aspects of dramatic performance; encouraging them to become involved in directing, producing and stage managing, as well as forming technical and design crews.
We involve as many students as possible in our productions, taking great pride in developing successful performances involving students of all ages The school provides students with the opportunity to participate in a wide range of less formal performances and events, as well as a range of workshops and clubs throughout the year. These are listed in the school calendar
We very much look forward to welcoming your child to our department and seeing you at one of our forthcoming events.
This booklet sets out some useful information about peripatetic LAMDA lessons your child can choose to take alongside their studies at SWPS, and includes details of some of our co-curricular groups. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any queries about LAMDA at SWPS - ewhite@swps.org.uk.
Emily White Head of Drama
LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) are weekly Drama/Communication classes which lead to graded examinations in a number of performance areas. LAMDA exams are fully accredited and students who complete grades 6, 7 or 8 will earn UCAS points which can be used towards university offers. No prior experience is expected, but if students have already completed grades with LAMDA or another provider they will be able to continue at their current level.
The acting syllabus offers monologues or duologues, and the communication option is excellent for students who wish to gain confidence in public speaking. As they progress to the higher grades, students will develop an understanding of dramatic structure and staging, using movement and mood, style and space as well as improving their overall stage presence.
Both options support the GCSE and A level Drama curriculum and are also an excellent creative outlet for those who don’t opt for Drama beyond key stage 3.
More information about any exams and syllabus can be found here: www.lamda.ac.uk/lamda-exams/ourexams.
Your child does not have to take the exams if they do not wish to. LAMDA lessons are also a good opportunity to develop confidence and communication skills.
We have two LAMDA teachers with us at SWPS who have an abundance of experience in the theatre and television industries. They are on campus throughout the week.
Connie Hyde trained at LAMDA herself and has gone on to perform on the West End in The Railway Children, and may be a familiar face to Coronation Street fans. She is also on the audition board of the National Youth Theatre.
Caroline Harker is also a highly successful working actress who most recently played Clairee Belcher on the Steel Magnolias UK tour.
Our peripatetic teachers offer thirty lessons each of 35 minutes over the course of the academic year. This often works as ten lessons per term but may vary in accordance with term dates and weeks per term. Lessons are priced at £21 for a shared lesson per session, and £28 for a solo lesson per session.
Timetables are organised by the LAMDA teacher. Lessons are timetabled throughout the school day on a rotational basis. Students should check their lesson time on Microsoft Teams, and on the board outside the LAMDA room. It is their responsibility to excuse themselves from their lesson or activity and attend their LAMDA lesson at the appropriate time.
Students in Years 7-9 are timetabled throughout the school day on a rotational basis.
Students in Year 10 are also rotated throughout the school day. Should a student in Year 10 have more than one peripatetic lesson (including music), then one of these lessons will rotate throughout the day, and the other lesson(s) will be in a fixed slot (during a nonacademic lesson, lunchtime, before or after school slot, or a free period).
Students in Years 11-13 (inclusive) are timetabled in a fixed slot (during a non-academic lesson, lunchtime, before or after school slot, or a free period).
On completion of the application form, we will pass your email to the peripatetic teachers who will be in touch with you directly. From then on, your contact will be with your child’s peripatetic LAMDA teacher. They will send you their contract, which you will need to sign. If they cannot accommodate your child, they will be placed on the waiting list.
Individual peripatetic teachers are responsible for sending out their own contracts. Please ensure you have read, understood, and signed the terms and conditions of the contract before commencing lessons. Should the student wish to terminate lessons, please adhere to the notice period given in the individual contract, informing both the peripatetic teacher and the Head of Drama.
Please note: LAMDA lessons are a contractual agreement between peripatetic teacher and parent/guardian only.
Peripatetic teachers may recommend students take examinations as and when is appropriate. SWPS is a LAMDA examination centre. We hold an examination period once a year. There is also the opportunity to go to LAMDA itself to take the exam. Strict deadlines for exam entry will apply so parents / guardians will always be kept informed of an upcoming exam period.
Peripatetic teachers are not required to send written reports home. Should you wish to enquire as to the progress of your child, please do contact the peripatetic teacher in the first instance. Should you have any queries or concerns, please address these to the Head of Drama.
Below is a list of some of the co-curricular clubs on offer here at SWPS. This list is not exhaustive, and we are always looking for ways to involve students in performance around the school.
School Production
Our annual large-scale show featuring students from all year groups. This is an opportunity for students to take centre stage and perform much loved plays and musicals to the SWPS community.
Past productions have included:
Made in Dagenham
Annie
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Macbeth
Mary Poppins
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Much Ado About Nothing
Light and Sound Club
An invite only club for students in Years 9-13. This group learns about the light and sound equipment we have at SWPS. There is an opportunity to apply the skills they learn practically by facilitating the light and sound requirements for school events such as productions and exams.
Year 7, 8 and 9 Drama Club
We run two weekly Drama clubs, one for Year 7 and one for Years 8 and 9. Throughout the year, students work on their confidence, improvisation, team building, and acting skills. It is a brilliant opportunity for students to develop their skills outside their curricular Drama lessons.
Digital Video Editing Club
This club is an opportunity for students in Years 9 and 10 to learn how to make and edit their own films.
GCSE and A Level Writing Clinics
A lunchtime clinic to assist students who study Drama for GCSE and A Level with their written coursework for the subject.
