THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND DRAMA

appreciate • discriminate • imagine

'words alone are certain good'

Edgar from 'King Lear' November 2007
A very warm welcome to the King's School Department of English and Drama! Here you can find some recent pupils' work, photos of drama productions, details of staff, and what we teach, and news of forthcoming events. As a team, we pride ourselves on the teaching of the finest literary inheritance that there is. We aim to inspire in our students some of the enjoyment and insight that we all gain from the study of literature, theatre and media, and we believe that the creative imagination is one of the most life-enhancing gifts we have. From the challenging and rigorous teaching of literature and language at all levels, and through extra-curricular activities like our spectacular drama productions and popular writing competitions, we aim to get pupils involved. We believe that the discipline of English and related subjects such as media and drama are not only humanising ones, but enabling and ennobling ones as well. We try in our teaching to make lessons fun, challenging and hope to inspire in our pupils a life-long love of , concern for, and interest in English, literature, drama and media. Notable achievements in the last few years include the following:

  • 2 Oxbridge Places for English
  • 2 National Youth Theatre Places
  • 1 Student into RADA
  • 1 Student in the Top 5 in the Country for English Literature GCSE
  • AB average pass rate at A level 67% ( in 2007 a third got As)
  • Theatre Studies pass rate at A level at AB= 80%+
  • 2007 50% plus A/A* at GCSE language
  • Out of year groups of about 50-60 in the last few years, the pass rate at GCSE lit is regularly 98-100%

Recent drama productions include King Lear, The Cherry Orchard, Oliver!, Twelfth Night, The Mikado, Jesus Christ Superstar in Gloucester Cathedral, Pride and Prejudice, etc etc. Many of our pupils are currently starring as extras in the Harry Potter film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In the last few years, the department has introduced Theatre Studies, Media Studies, GCSE drama and established an extremely popular Saturday morning Stage School that offers a varied menu of activities and performances.

Departmental News Curriculum Outline Samples of pupil work Stage School and Photos of Drama Productions Useful Links Staff Information Reading Lists