Pupils Shine On Lamda Stage

Pupils at Highfield and Brookham could be forgiven for making a real song and dance about their dramatic prowess.

Instead, the children let their stage talent do the talking by securing a superb set of results in their London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA) exams.

Some 108 pupils took exams in the spring, with 94 securing distinctions and 14 claiming merits to complete another successful year of LAMDA under the auspices of Sarah Baird, Head of Drama at Highfield and Brookham, who is also a former professional actor.

Acting or speaking verse or prose, children must score at least 50 marks out of 100 to earn a pass at their grade level, 65 to obtain a merit and 80 to achieve a distinction; with 40 marks available for interpretation, 40 marks for technique and 20 marks for knowledge.

Isabella Hawkes was Highfield and Brookham’s top performer, securing an impressive score of 95 in her grade one acting exam, while Lottie Gelder and Oliver Fanshawe scored 94 for grade one acting and grade two verse and prose work respectively.

Highfield and Brookham has a strong record of dramatic success under Mrs Baird’s leadership, with another 120 pupils taking LAMDA again this year and working with three specialist teachers – Sarah Dungworth, Hannah Baxter-Eve and Susannah Wilson – two of whom are working actors and the other is a former West End performer.

Pupils in years five, six, seven and eight can take solo, duo or group lessons, with taster sessions available in the summer term for children in Year 4.

The thriving day and boarding school on the rural borders of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex also picked up three more senior school drama scholarships in the summer – two to Charterhouse and one to Cranleigh – while every year group in the nursery, pre-prep and prep school put on at least one performance during the year, culminating in the Year 8 leavers’ spectacular staging of School of Rock.

Suzannah Cryer, former Head of Drama and now Head at Highfield and Brookham, said: “We have always taken great pride in our drama provision and the incredible results that the children have secured in their LAMDA results this year are testament to that.

“Under the guidance of an amazing group of talented, professional and dedicated teachers, our children just seem to raise the bar higher and higher each year.”