GCSE Drama
Lancing offers a rich and varied programme of Drama, reflecting an illustrious cast of past pupils headed by Sir Christopher Hampton, Sir David Hare, and Sir Tim Rice, with numerous more recent alumni working in the performance and production fields spanning the creative arts industries. Our 160-seat theatre is at once an intimate yet versatile space, and one sympathetic to different staging configurations, from traditional proscenium arch through traverse and in-the-round, to a recent (and spine-tinglingly!) immersive production of Lord of the Flies. An orchestra pit facilitates live accompaniment for school musicals. The adjoining Cherry Hall Drama Studio is a perfect complement: this is the lead learning space for curriculum drama as well as smaller scale performances and showcases. It also plays host to visiting professionals delivering a range of workshops.
GCSE Drama
The Drama GCSE course (AQA) investigates scripted and devised drama practically and in a written exam. Those interested in design aspects of theatre may focus on these rather than performance when examined for the practical components. Regular visits to the professional theatre are a key element of the course.
Third Form Drama
Third Form curricular drama is designed to enhance pupils’ knowledge of stagecraft alongside the development of life skills including collaboration, resilience, communication and concentration. During the Advent and Lent terms pupils practically explore the performance methodologies of contrasting theatre practitioners, using improvisation, devising and textual study. The Summer Term sees the pupils examine aspects of theatre design such as costume, lighting, staging and sound. The programme is carefully designed to encourage pupils’ creativity, confidence, and curiosity for the subject, and provides an excellent foundation for the skills further developed in GCSE Drama.
Drama enables students to develop vital skills such as communication, collaboration, resilience, confidence and problem solving. Many former students speak warmly of their experiences in Drama lessons and school productions, often recalling them as some of the most enriching moments of their time at Lancing.
Sally Gerstmeyer, Head of Academic Drama
Film and Photo Gallery
