Drama at Bronte Girls’ Academy, a school in Bradford that opened in 2019, is progressively developing and providing exciting opportunities to explore diverse ways of expressing opinions, creativity, empathy, problem solving, and communication. GSCE Drama is currently being considered, which is why it is important to highlight the significance of drama in this article and deliver the advantages attached.

Drama lessons are taught every half-term, which equates to only 18 lessons per year, so it is hoped that drama will become a more important part of the play at Bronte. Fortunately, the costume and props department is already expanding through donations and funding. 

 

The plays that have been performed in the school curriculum so far are Macbeth, Cinderella, Hairspray, and West Side Story. The course is consistently developing and changing with the purpose of making it more engaging and practical. There are two drama clubs set up: the standard, which runs every Tuesday lunchtime where teamwork, games, and performances are carried out, and the Matilda Jr., twice a week.

The production accomplished outside of lessons was the Winter Concert, which consisted of The 13th Cookie, Regift, and Santa’s Cookie Problem. Presently, the school is working on Matilda, in which all year groups are taking part. Students have taken several trips to broaden their cultural capital, such as to see theatrical productions like The Lion King or when visiting New College, which allowed students to view A-level work and broaden their understanding of drama. 

 

In an interview, Olivia Wagstaff, the head of the PE department at Bronte, stated,

I took drama at school, and while it didn’t make me Julia Roberts, it does help me every day at my job.” 

In addition to that, Skaii Fearnley, a drama teacher at Bronte, proclaimed,

We have some fantastic, talented actresses at Bronte, and I’d love to see students taking drama at GSCE in the near future!” 

 

It is clear that despite being surrounded by them, the arts are taken for granted and underfunded. Drama is fundamental to gaining transferable skills such as leadership, performance, self-awareness, and public speaking. To add to this, it also has many close relations with other subjects, especially English, as students obtain context, while in PE dance, it is vital for movement and timing.

Students achieve a newfound confidence and self-esteem boost through acting, which would undoubtedly support them in the future, for example, positions such as teachers, lawyers, and politicians are all communicators and performers.

There is a lot of background work that goes into production, such as directors, musicians, technicians, lighting, sound, camera, props, setting, special effects, costumes, hair, and makeup, which several do not acknowledge.

In simple words, drama is crucial and necessary in the learning journeys of students at school; it imparts valuable skills to students that they will forever have to enable them to find their passions and interests. As time proceeds, there is hope that drama will truly expand at Bronte and gain the recognition that it deserves.