LAMDA

The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) examinations have been a consistently successful enrichment activity at Gumley House School for many years.   LAMDA is the UK’s largest Speech and Drama board and a nationally recognised qualification in communication and performance, which enriches the curriculum for many of our students. 

The LAMDA syllabus is designed to equip candidates, whatever their age and aspirations, with a range of skills that will serve them throughout life.  

Preparation for these examinations can:

• Develop communication and performance skills
• Unlock the imagination
• Foster an appreciation of drama and literature
• Build self confidence and self esteem.

As a qualified LAMDA Teacher, Allison Hancock has been teaching the LAMDA syllabus and entering candidates for examination for over thirty years, with outstanding results.  Please do take time to have a look at LAMDA’s website for more information: https://www.lamda.ac.uk/our-exams.  Please note that this LAMDA provision is only available for students currently at Gumley House School FCJ.

Preparation for examinations is offered for Grades 1 – 8 in Speaking Verse and Prose, Speaking in Public, Reading for Performance, Acting, Mime and Improvisation, and no prior experience is necessary. The LAMDA teacher will decide which grade and exam is suitable for a student and will build on any previous examinations taken or relevant acting experience. UCAS points are attached to Level 3 qualifications – Grades 6, 7, 8 which are awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold medals respectively.  

The courses offered

Speaking Verse & Prose
Designed to develop the skills necessary for effective communication of novels and poetry. Develops a strong speaking voice and memory skills. Designed for individual candidates.

1. Interpretative Skills: Candidates engage imaginatively with different kinds of text
2. Technical Skills: Candidates are required to build skills in voice, diction, posture, etc.
3. Knowledge: Candidates are required

• to research social, historical, and cultural contexts in order to widen understanding of the text
• to understand voice, speech and versification theory to realise the specific demands of the text

Acting (Performance)
Developing acting skills required for communicating character and context. Developing a strong, expressive speaking voice and good memory skills by learning and performing monologues and duologues. Designed for solo, duologue or group performances.

1. Interpretative Skills: Candidates are required

• To explore, style, form, character subtext and context in order to realise the specific demands of the text.
• To suspend disbelief by focusing on the immediacy of the character’s situation in order to create a credible sense of reality.

2. Technical Skills: Candidates are required to build skills in voice, diction and movement in order to realise the specifics of character and situation.
3. Knowledge of the performance process: candidates are required to understand character, situation, staging, context, subtext, style and period.

Performance Subjects also include Devising Drama and Miming but I find these usually work better in a group situation and are, in any case, covered in the Acting syllabus.  Through miming you gain an understanding of non-verbal communication by exploring physicality and movement, and putting it into a dramatic performance. Designed for solo or duo performances.  

Speaking in Public
Developing essential skills for constructing and delivering talks, presentations and speeches. Designed for individual candidates. 

Oral Language Skills: Candidates are required:

1.      Oral Language Skills: Candidates are required

·         to select, structure and shape subject matter into a coherent and concise oral presentation

• ·         to select, structure and shape subject matter into a coherent and concise oral presentation

• to select, structure and shape subject matter into a coherent and concise oral presentation
• to adapt language and utilise vocabulary appropriate to support the subject matter

Communication Skills: Candidates are required

• to build skills in projection
• to match tonal register to audience, purpose and situation
• to integrate body language, notes and visual aids where appropriate, to support the subject matter and engage the audience.

Listening Skills: candidates are required

• to respond to questions
• to create opportunities for others to contribute when appropriate
• to support other speakers through appropriate non-verbal response.

Reading for Performance
Developing a recital around a theme of the pupil’s choice and developing an introduction, links and a conclusion to tie it all together. Prose and verse selections do not need to be learnt. Designed for individual candidates.

1. In addition to the Interpretative and Technical Skills learnt for Speaking Verse and Prose, candidates also learn the particular skills required for reading aloud, and
2. To place text within a context by selecting, linking and structuring material around a theme in order to create a fully integrated performance

Rates for the Academic Year 2021-2022

LAMDA lessons are taught by a LAMDA specialists.  LAMDA lessons last 20 minutes and are conducted on a weekly basis with an average of 10 lessons per term. 

If you wish to sign up for LAMDA lessons, please use the booking form below.  As soon as a position becomes available your daughter will be contacted and you will be provided with details on how to pay a deposit of £50.  Once a timetable of lessons has been instructed you will receive an invoice for the lessons for the term.  The cost for each term of 10 lessons is £110, payable when your daughter is allocated a place.  The deposit is returned on receipt of half a term’s notice if and when you want to stop.  Each grade usually takes about three terms of tuition to complete the course.  

Pupils are withdrawn from their normal timetabled class on a rotational basis, missing the same subject no more than twice each half term.  Sixth formers or any students already missing a lesson for a regular commitment such as music will have their lessons in free periods, lunchtimes or before/after school where there is availability.

The pupil will not be charged for any lesson where the teacher is not present.  Pupils are liable for the cost of any lessons that they miss through illness or other commitments. This includes any additional school commitments, including sports fixtures, which occur after the timetabling of lessons. In exceptional circumstances, a teacher may, at their discretion and only if possible within their timetable, reschedule a lesson if they have been given advance notice of an unavoidable absence. It is the responsibility of the student to inform teachers in advance of any lessons they miss and to catch up on work.

Registration Form for LAMDA

Please use the online registration form below to enquire about LAMDA lessons:

Please complete all fields marked (*)

Student Full Name: *

Student Tutor Group *

Have you studied LAMDA before?

 I have never studied LAMDA before

 I have studied LAMDA at Gumley House before

 I have studied LAMDA at a different institution before

 I have taken some grades in LAMDA

Parent Contact email address

Parent contact phone number

 

Where a request cannot be immediately accommodated, the student’s name will be added to a waiting list and they will be offered tuition at the earliest possible opportunity.