Another year of excellent results

We are delighted to share that our LAMDA students at QM have excelled again this year in their exam grades.

85% of pupils gained Distinctions and 15% Merits - a fantastic result overall.

"It is wonderful to see the girls rewarded for their hard work and commitment in fulfilling the requirements of the examinations.” Rachel Lavell (LAMDA Teacher)

Harriette (LVI) achieved 94% for her Grade 8 Acting - a fantastic achievement!

Harriette:

“I have been studying LAMDA since I arrived at QM in Year I when I became a Drama Scholar.

Having never done LAMDA before, my friends and I worked towards our Grade 3 Group Recital in my first year. This was an excellent opportunity to work with and get to know other pupils. We devised a modern-day version of Malory Towers, writing our own scripts and selecting poetry and prose with a boarding school theme. We had great fun creating mischievous characters that played all sorts of jokes on each other.

I then went on to do Grade 4 Combined Acting, where I worked with a partner and performed a duologue and a monologue. For Grades 5, 6 & 7 I then focused on monologue exams.

This year, I have completed my Grade 8 Solo Acting examination. For this exam I performed three monologues; Sophocles’s Electra, Napoleon from ‘Animal Farm’ and Sally from ‘A Super Happy Story’. I studied the processes of developing characters for performance, the characters’ role within the contexts of the plays, and Bertolt Brecht’s key principles and influences in the process of acting.

Studying LAMDA has developed my public speaking skills and enhanced my awareness of my physicality when performing or addressing an audience. It has extended my knowledge of plays, different time periods, and my understanding of different characters, their backgrounds and relationships. It has given me opportunities to build my interpersonal skills, particularly my creativity and communication skills, and has supported my time-management skills, research skills and decision-making skills.

In my final year here at QM I will be studying Speaking in Public. I see this as an invaluable qualification to further develop my confidence as I take on my role as Head Girl.

It is also a fantastic opportunity for me to gain additional UCAS points for my university applications.”

Year I pupils Emilia, Heidi, Keiana, Amelia and Maddie achieved 94% for their Grade 3 Group Recital.

“This year we have worked together toward our Grade 3 Group Recital. We were given the author J.K.Rowling as a stimulus and created our own version of Hogwarts - selecting poems and sections from the Harry Potter books and screenplays written by J.K.Rowling.

Emilia - “I have enjoyed the bond that we have created between us.”

Heidi - “I have enjoyed the fun of expressing ourselves and working together as a group.”

Keiana - “I have enjoyed how we built the script each week and how the characters related to our personalities.”

Amelia - “I have enjoyed the freedom of acting and improvisation.”

Maddie - “I have enjoyed the creativity of LAMDA this year. What is also good about LAMDA is that we would not have chosen each other to work with, we would have chosen our best friends. But instead, we have learnt how to work with other people and know that if we ever need somebody from our LAMDA group, they will always have our backs.”

Yanni (LVI) achieved 90% for her Grade 6 Acting:

“When I joined LAMDA I had not had any previous acting experience. I opted for GCSE Drama and discovered that all of my friends were taking LAMDA. This year, I have completed my Grade 6 Solo Acting examination. Taking LAMDA has built my confidence in day-to-day conversation and communication in general as English is not my first language. LAMDA has also supported me in my music studies and particularly in my musicality in my opera singing.”

Olivia (Year V) achieved 88% for her Grade 7 Duologue Acting:

“I really enjoy LAMDA and have been taking exams for the past six years. I have really always enjoyed it because it is a fun way to get a qualification in something that I love - acting! Whilst I have not always enjoyed the theory aspect of the exam, it has been interesting to look at what influenced the playwrights to write the plays and to learn about the writing styles and the period in which the playwrights were writing. For this set of exams I had a diverse set of characters to play; Juliet from ‘Romeo and Juliet', Lil in ‘Kindertransport’ and Celia in ‘Blue Stockings’. My favourite character this year was the passionate and headstrong character of Juliet.”

Pippa (Year V) achieved 88% for Grade 7 Duologue Acting:

“I have always loved acting so it was fantastic to come to QM and have the opportunity to take LAMDA. It's exciting to be given a series of scripts to choose from that allow us to explore mature characters from different walks of life and great to work on the scenes and develop our characters and performances.

This set of exams was a challenge because of the three pieces that we had to learn and discover. I also had to balance my studies alongside my GCSEs, but with Mrs Lavell’s help, we worked in bite-size chunks to learn our lines and learn about the content and context of the plays. I would recommend LAMDA as it is a great way to develop your performance skills, organisational skills, social skills, public speaking skills and presentation skills.

Neve (Year II) achieved 87% for her Grade 4 Acting:

“I decided to study LAMDA at QM because it is a profession I would like to enter when I am older. In LAMDA I enjoy the fact that I have one-on-one lessons which means that I learn more and gain a deeper understanding of my scripts and characters. It is a great opportunity to do LAMDA, as not all schools offer it. This was my first exam -beforehand I felt very nervous and stressed, but when I was in the exam the examiner was comforting and gave me the confidence to perform to my best. After the exam, I felt proud of myself and was glad I had done it as I felt that I was rewarded for all of my hard work.

I am very very happy with my grade and feel more confident in my acting. I look forward to next year as a Drama Scholar and exploring new texts and characters for performance.”

Freya (LVI) gained 87% for her Grade 8 Acting:

“I joined LAMDA classes in Year II to hang out with my friends and after two successful examinations, I realised that theatre was what I wanted to do. LAMDA inspired me to take up GCSE and A Level Drama and fully involve myself in the Drama department. I am now a Drama Scholar and this year I have just completed my Grade 8 Solo Acting examination. If you just want something fun to do with your friends or have a budding passion for Drama then I highly recommend LAMDA as an extra-curricular subject. LAMDA has given me knowledge of all things Drama, and of all the essential foundations and more for a career in the performing arts.

In my final year here at QM I will be spending my LAMDA lessons preparing for Drama school auditions”.

Other students who have taken their exams this term...

Chloe (LVI) - Grade 5 Speaking in Public:

“LAMDA has helped me feel more confident in myself and comfortable talking in front of other people. The exam was enjoyable. It was my first time and the examiner was friendly and encouraging.”

Isabel (Year III) - Grade 4 Combined Acting

“I have been studying LAMDA for 6 years and whilst I enjoy the performing aspect of it, I see the importance of building my qualifications for my future. LAMDA has boosted my confidence in school life, in public speaking, in my communication with different people, and it's helped me build my memory skills and drama skills.

Isabel (Year III) - Grade 4 Combined Acting

“I love Drama and have been doing LAMDA for the past 8 years. As a Drama Scholar, I have built my performing skills in LAMDA and am excited to be transferring these next year when I join GCSE Drama. This year I have completed my Grade 4 Combined Acting and have appreciated the help and support that Mrs Lavell has given me in preparing for my exam. I recommend LAMDA to everyone as it helps build skills for the future.”

Rachael (LVI) - Grade 7 Solo Acting

“I joined QM this year and took up LAMDA because my passion is acting and I hope to pursue a career in the performing arts. I am currently studying at A Level. I have also been awarded the role of Drama Prefect where I hope to reach out to a wider demographic in school to help show how diverse a production can be. I also hope to challenge the stereotype that you can only perform in a production, as I believe that a production draws on a range of skills and talents. LAMDA can support the individuals who choose to study it. It can help develop their communication, both verbal and physical. It is through the use of Drama skills that I have been able to build strong friendships, manage my time, and really focus on my performance skills. I was ecstatic when I found out that I had achieved a Distinction at Grade 7. I look forward to working on my LAMDA Grade 8 and delving further into my new characters and the world from their individual perspectives.”

Eva (Year II) - Grade 4 Combined Acting

“I chose LAMDA because I was looking for an Enrichment activity. I joined my friend and we worked together towards our exam. LAMDA has helped me to focus on my pace in delivery when I speak, as I think I speak too fast. As much as I was nervous about it, I really enjoyed the exam experience. I had never done a performance exam before but the examiner was kind and made me feel comfortable in the performance space. I would recommend others to have a go at a LAMDA exam.”