The Drama Department is one of the most exciting departments in school. We have our own Studio with no desks so we can move around and create exciting theatre. We have lighting and sound and so lessons as well as productions feel like a real theatre experience.

Every year we create up to three productions and sometimes more. We participate in the annual National Shakespeare Festival and our productions always stand out as modern and exciting and the judges rate our school as ‘having a truly theatrical approach which enables all students to take part at a high standard telling the story vividly with outstanding delivery of the language’.

Our annual productions have included, ‘Bugsy Malone’, ‘Grease’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ created by a Year 10 student and inspired by a Year 9 student. This will involve a giant sized Jabberwocky made by the Art and design department.

Year 8 devise a mask play that is entirely movement and gesture - No words! We tour this to Primary schools in term 6, and it is always a comedy with perhaps a touching moment of seriousness. The mask work is highly detailed observation of how people interact and communicate everyday. Vamos Theatre Company created the masks with Year 8 students three years ago, and they are still being used now. This company is a nationally renowned theatre company invited to perform at the International Mime Festival in London this year and we were lucky enough to premiere their show ‘Finding Joy’ at our Barnwood Park previously.

In Year 7 we take the students to see a Christmas pantomime either at the Cheltenham Everyman or at the Roses in Tewkesbury.