Drama Workshop for Year 10 GCSE Students

On 25 February, our Year 10 Drama students were involved in an exciting 2 hour workshop led by ex-pupils Tamsin Clarke and Sasha Milavic-Davies, who trained at the Lecoq International Theatre School in Paris. They created an electric atmosphere in which the girls felt safe to experiment with new physical theatre techniques while also instilling the need for control and discipline. After detailed introductory exercises in stretching and isolating parts of the body, the girls explored different centres of energy, often involving vigorous exercise around the theatre space. They then explored the four elements: in one instance imagining they were pushing into a cave of clay, and in another, carrying a fish tank in their stomachs and trying not to spill any water! This led into work on materials, at which point Sasha and Tamsin produced a great heap of objects ranging from sellotape to tin foil and bubble wrap. Girls worked in pairs and solo to take on some of the physicality of their chosen material and there were rich dialogues including one between a scratchy tin foil woman and an eager rubber glove. They finished the session with group explorations of the movement and habits of particular animals.

Apart from the fact that the girls clearly had fun, they have been given a lot of new fuel for their forthcoming devised projects. It was exciting to see them stretch themselves and find new ways of expression and a privilege for us to be able to sit back and observe their work at one remove.

Helen Adie

JAGS pupils are free spirits! Last academic year, they confidently explored Morocco, Venice, Montpellier, Paris and shopped till they dropped in the German Christmas Markets. They camped overnight and walked purposefully over the Sussex Downs, drew in Kew Gardens, visited art galleries, theatres, museums, places of worship, and pursued Latin, Greek, Philosophy, Medicine and other passions at schools and Royal Colleges.

Sixth form Spanish students have spent a long weekend in Madrid and a small group of Year 12 English students stayed in Wordsworth’s House and wandered through his Lake District. During the Easter break, we made our first ever trip to Japan, and took part in a German Exchange to Cologne, a Year 10 Italian Exchange to Montepulciano, a Year 9 French Exchange to Sevres, Paris, a joint sixth form Economics trip to Belgium with Alleyn’s, a Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition, a Year 12 Geography field trip to South Wales and the Year 9 trip to the First World War Battlefields, a Choir and Orchestral tour of Italy raised the roofs in August.

So much to look forward to! By mid October 2009, the whole of Year 7 will have been bowled over at Bowles, getting to know each other in exhilarating activities, stretching mental and physical skills they never knew they had; and in the year to come, with any luck, linguists will be waxing lyrical in Montpellier, Barcelona, Grenada, Seville, Siena, Paris, Berlin or Munich. There are plans for Historians and Classicists to visit Rome, and the battlefields, for a joint Geography and French trip to the Opal Coast, and nearer to home for Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions and a visit to Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage. The PE department hope to have a tennis week in Spain, and the Physics department will be weekending in Geneva, investigating the LHC (Large Hadron Collider).In the summer holidays sixth-formers will work with orphaned children in Romania. Visit the news page for regular updates of life at JAGS.

The day's events can be found on the school calendar. 

For details of music events please click here.

For details of sports events please click here.