On Wednesday 24th April Year 10 GCSE Drama students participated in the inaugural Ignite Schools Festival at Lichfield Garrick Theatre. This was a fantastic opportunity for students to perform in front of a live audience and gain experience of how a professional theatre works. Two of our students, Megan Smith and John Cooper-Perceval were even interviewed about their experience by the Lichfield Garrick’s community engagement officer.

The students performed an original devised performance which they had created themselves during their GCSE Drama lessons, all students had a key role to play in the physical, ensemble style piece which explored the concepts of order and chaos. Students explored what those terms mean to them and a range of situations linked to order and chaos. These included a courtroom, a school and some puppets that had gone rogue. The festival included performances by students from two other secondary schools and solo pieces performed by the Young Garrick Theatre company and students enjoyed having the opportunity to meet new people and see a range of performances.

It was a long and busy day full of excitement and nerves and students returned tired but proud of themselves for what they had achieved. This experience will really help students as they begin the process of devising their group performances for their upcoming GCSE Drama assessment but more than that it was a great opportunity for students to challenge themselves, push outside of their comfort zone and show the amazing things they are capable of. I am really proud of every single one of them.

Miss S. Julius

Subject Leader – Performing Arts