We are passionate about drama as a celebratory and participatory art form, and are committed to the development of high quality drama work inside and outside of the curriculum.

 In our lessons we aim to develop the positive aspects of the young people that we teach. We hope to develop their self confidence, their group skills and their ability to communicate well. We encourage creativity, innovation and ambition. The work we do is underpinned by values of empathy, tolerance, responsibility and commitment. We celebrate the uniqueness of the individual but at the same time nurture the notion of community.

At Joseph Rowntree School, Drama is taught throughout years 7 to 9 and delivered through 2 hours of teaching per fortnight. It is an option at GCSE available in a variety of combinations and there are usually 2 groups at this level. It is also available as Drama & Theatre Studies at AS/A2 Level. Every year there are students who go on to careers or further/higher education in the performing arts industry. We also have students who have preferred to keep their love of theatre and drama as a lifelong interest. Students have also progressed from our A Level course to Oxford and Cambridge.

We like to offer a wide range of opportunities for our students and our recent performance work exemplifies this ranging from light hearted musicals; Back to The Eighties & ‘Candle’ (our own creation) to The Schools’ Shakespeare Festival. We have a very strong relationship with our local York Theatre Royal and also have worked many times with Riding Lights Theatre Company, Pilot Theatre, Belt Up and The West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. There are regular trips to see theatre of all different kinds and there are also residential visits to London.

In our department there are two full time teachers of Drama and one that we ‘borrow’ from the English department. Maggie Smales leads the department assisted by Valerie Cox. Ali Taylor joins us to teach in the lower school. We also work closely with our neighbours in Music and have the services of Dan Stephenson as a technician.