Drama and the Performing Arts at West Sussex independent school Sompting Abbotts
Aims
Working alongside the targets in the National Curriculum, Drama has an important role to play in achieving its aims. We try to inspire in the children a love of Drama and musical theatre. We believe Drama can help students with spoken elements of English study; with expressing themselves and understanding the world; with looking after each other and working as a team – and of course, to have lots of fun and laughter.
Our children's acting and presenting skills are developed through participating in scripted or improvised Drama. Exploring real and imaginary situations help students to understand and share their world. They develop their capacity to enjoy Drama and their knowledge and understanding through evaluating technical aspects and scripts, and commenting on their work and the work of others.
Our approach
All students in Years 3 to 8 receive one lesson of Drama a week. This usually takes place in the Drama Studio. Here, students learn the craft and skills they may need when involved in a school production and to help themselves express their ideas via learning Drama skills. These skills are differentiated according to the age of the class.
Most of our School productions involve all children from Years 5 to 8. It is a long-standing tradition that students in the final year (Year 8) perform the lead roles in that year’s show.
“The stage is not merely the meeting place of all the arts, but is also the return of art to life.”
Sompting Abbotts' eclectic mix of past productions
The first modern plays performed at Sompting Abbotts School began in 1991. Over the years, we've staged everything from the classics to the more avant-garde. They have included Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, Animal Farm, Bugsy Malone, Guys and Dolls, Return to the Forbidden Planet, Macbeth, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Alice in Wonderland.
In recent years, the school has performed Wind in the Willows, Much Ado About Nothing, Superthunderstingcar: a musical adaptation of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore’s Thunderbirds pastiche and Grease, Jr.
LAMDA speech & drama tuition at Sompting Abbotts Preparatory School
LAMDA is the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. It was founded in 1861 and is one of the oldest and most respected Drama Schools in the UK.
Our students work with our specialist staff at Sompting Abbotts to prepare their pieces and then perform in front of an examiner.
Syllabus categories include Verse and Prose, Acting and Public Speaking. The training is a fantastic way to improve children's confidence, imagination and creative thinking, deepen communication skills and expand their knowledge of poems and literature.
LAMDA exams are a recognised vocational qualification. Most independent senior schools also offer these exams so having started them in prep school is a great foundation for your child's future.
What child doesn’t love to collect handfuls of glossy brown conkers? At Sompting Abbotts, they don't just fill their pockets — even socks become makeshift pouches. And so, at this time of the year, we send the children out into our school grounds to look for shiny conkers (not that they need any persuading).