Our classes are inclusive and open for any learner who wants to try drama. We have a good number of learners who are able to work well together, learn skills and develop friendships. The tutor works alongside learners and helps them to make decisions in their learning. Each week one learner will assist with check-in and warm-up. This helps build confidence, empathy and ability to communicate effectively with peers. Giving the opportunity to lead empowers children’s ability to communicate and help shape their learning. P6 learners help lead drama games with the younger group  members, whilst an S3 helps with the P4 to P7 group.

Junior class – P1 to p3/p4

There are around ten children in the younger group. They are from a diverse background and work well together. Currently we have two Ukrainian children who attend so that they can interact with other children and learn English through drama. This is a group with mixed ability, some with additional support needs and behavioural challenges. This can require extra support from tutor. For some children English is their second language and we work vocal technique, communication through drama and relating to their peers through drama games. Term three: for the younger group we concentrated on building confidence and social 
interaction through games, storytelling and improvisation. This enables the group to build up drama skills for moving on to the P4 to P7 group. These are transferable skills such as communication, storytelling, presentation and collaborating with others, which are beneficial for other areas of education and community.

Storytelling: P4 to P7 

We have had a number of new group members to this class. There are some P7’s who are transitioning to high school and therefore attend both P4-P7 and S1-S4 classes. We have worked on devising and improvisation as ways to build stories and dramatic content, focussing on how to present work to an audience. The group have also developed their physical theatre skills and have grown in confidence over this term.

S1 to S4 – Citadel Young Person’s Company

We are building this group so that they can become a young person’s company and have autonomy over their learning. Our Young Person’s Company is now in the process of starting the Performing Arts Studio Scotland (PASS) Academy with Edinburgh College, so they have a clear pathway into performing arts education, if they wish to pursue this. It is voluntary and provides workshops and a 
consistent learning pathway for our learners.

This is a mixed ability group and confidence is sometimes requiring development. Therefore, we continue to work on developing confidence to perform and receive and give constructive feedback. Peer and tutor feedback provides the skills to improve and opens conversation for peer-led learning. We now have an S5 volunteer from Drummond High School who is looking to build their teaching skills for starting University. This term we learned about a performing arts practitioner each week and how to incorporate this into developing work. This supports the group’s learning at high school and through the drama curriculum. 

The Young Person’s Company is a company for mixed ability who want to learn to perform in a safe environment, where they can express themselves creatively. It is a collaborative experience, where learners take an active role in their performing arts journey, and they can learn both performing and other roles within performing arts. We actively encourage all learners to have input into all aspects of performance.

Summer Sessions

Summer sessions support families in the Leith community. We offered a number of free places to families who would not be able to attend summer camps otherwise. The sessions had some regular group members and new children. These sessions allow for social interaction, fun and meeting new people through drama. The group played drama games, developed improvisation scenes, and devised short plays over the 
two days.

Feedback from the students and family. 

“Without the group we wouldn’t be able to send him to another drama group. These sessions are invaluable to him and he looks forward to them each week.”

“This is the highlight of her week and she has grown so much.”

“He has developed so much confidence.” 

“We appreciate the community aspect of these drama sessions and that the drama teacher and youth worker both take the time to work with families to ensure that he is receiving the right support and opportunities.”

Our classes are inclusive and open for any learner who wants to try drama. We have a good number of learners who are able to work well together, learn skills and develop friendships. The tutor works alongside learners and helps them to make decisions in their learning. Each week one learner will assist with check in and warm up. This helps build confidence, empathy and ability to communicate effectively with peers. Giving the opportunity to lead empowers children’s ability to communicate and help shape their learning. P6 learners help lead drama games with the younger group members, whilst an S3 helps with the P4 to P7 group.

Junior class – P1 to p3/p4

There are around ten children in the younger group. Some attend on a drop-in basis. They are from a diverse background and work well together. Currently we have two Ukrainian children who attend so that they can interact with other children and learn English through drama. This is a group with mixed ability, some with additional support needs and behavioural challenges. This can require extra support from tutor. For some children English is their second language and 
one child is non-verbal. The group work with games that help vocal technique, communication through drama and relating to their peers. Term One we began work with developing devising skills, creating our own stories and learning to perform these back and receive feedback from tutor and peers. We looked at building confidence through each child leading check-in each week and running one game each session. This enables social interaction, confidence and empathy.

P4 to P7 

This group have spent term one working on alternative Christmas stories. Some of the group struggle with social anxiety. Therefore, anyone who didn’t want to perform worked in small groups to learn the devising process through creating, writing and planning theatre stories. This a different way of developing creative drama skills in a much more collaborative, student centred and empathic way. Some of the P7s also attend the S1 to S4 group as a way to transition to more detailed 
performance techniques. We have worked together to develop stage craft, improvisation and confidence in presenting our work to each other.

S1 to S4 – Senior Group

Whilst we try to establish a more secure future for the young person's company (Senior Group) we have focused on developing performing skills, confidence and building collaborative friendships. This is a mixed ability to group and confidence is sometimes requiring development. Therefore, we continue to work on developing confidence to perform and receive and give constructive feedback. Peer and tutor feedback provides the skills to improve and opens conversation for peer led learning. 

We have concentrated on the role of improvisation and how vital this skill is for performers. Focussing on long improvisation and how to sustain characters and stories for longer during improvisations. These skills can be transferred to other areas of learning such as, presentations and working with others in groups. The group focusses on keeping a safe environment where they can express themselves, perform and be creative without judgement.

Feedback from the students and family.

 
“Without the group we wouldn’t be able to send him to another drama group. These sessions are invaluable to him, and he looks forward to them each week.”

“This is the highlight of her week, and she has grown so much.”

“He has developed so much confidence.”

“We appreciate the community aspect of these drama sessions.”

“Thanks for everything you do for us.