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Academic
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| English and drama lessons are active, not passive! |
At Malvern College Preparatory School, we believe that English and drama are ‘good for your health!’ and should be fun. We work with commitment towards that objective: pupils are rarely sitting behind desks for long in our lessons! Our class sizes are ideal for English and drama work: small enough to permit individual attention, yet large enough to provide stimulating discussions and group activities.
The National Curriculum requires that the study of English should develop pupils’ abilities to communicate effectively in speech and writing and to listen with understanding. It should also enable them to be enthusiastic, responsive and knowledgeable readers.
Reading in public or presenting work orally in class demands self-confidence and we place great emphasis at Malvern College Preparatory School on developing this valuable skill. Pupils will often be asked to give a talk about a book they have read, or a topic of interest to them, or simply to read aloud the first draft of a piece of creative writing before proceeding to a second draft. Senior pupils are often asked to read the lessons in our various chapel services.
We pursue goals designed to support the weaker pupil whilst stretching stronger academic candidates. Our English study programmes combine innovative and stimulating activities, such as role-plays and drama workshop exercises, with the fundamental disciplines of grammar.
The encouragement and regular use of word processing skills on computers form an important part of our work, whether for drafting and improving compositions, producing work for display, or simply developing keyboard technique.
Drama is taught as a timetabled subject in Years 3 - 6, and as part of the English and drama syllabus in Years 7 and 8. Drama forms an essential part of the English syllabus at Malvern College Preparatory School, whether in role-play as a particular classroom exercise or as preparation for seeing a Shakespeare play at nearby Stratford-upon-Avon, to which we make regular trips. By the time they leave the Prep School, pupils in the top form will have studied at least two Shakespeare plays (often more).
There is an annual informal Drama Workshop performance in which pupils demonstrate some of the drama exercises used in class as well as a variety of hilarious improvisations, and the annual Poetry and Prose Reading Competition is a popular event with over sixty pupils in Years 6 to 8 participating in the heats and a particularly handsome trophy for the winner.
Visitors often enjoy coming to watch what happens during our English and drama lessons: we welcome their interest and are happy to give them a show!
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