A Brixton school that has benefited from four years of working with the National Theatre is backing its plans to take its work nationwide.
Becky Lawrence, deputy headteacher of Hill Mead primary on the Moorlands estate, said: “The school’s involvement in the National Theatre’s education programmes (Let’s Play, Primary Theatre and Theatre First) makes a qualitative difference to the children’s learning, such as exposure to rich vocabulary, and an in-depth study of a classic or modern play,” she said.
Theatre First is a series of workshops with Year 1 and their parents.
Primary Theatre provides the opportunity for Year 4 pupils to perform Shakespeare to National Theatre actors.
Playmakers allows the children to form their own theatre company and produce a performance.
One pupil said: “Theatre helps us expand our imagination, and we can create our own stories and plays.”
Lawrence said: “At a time when many schools are choosing to narrow their school curriculum in response to new assessment frameworks, the National Theatre’s education programmes, particularly Let’s Play, are even more important.”
