A dramatic way to boost academic performance in schools is earning worldwide recognition.
Huddersfield-based theatre company Chol has been providing drama-based learning to improve literacy success and behaviour.
The approach has been developed by Chol Theatre, and teachers and students from schools and universities across the UK. It has now attracted interest from New Zealand and Bahrain.
Trials and research were carried out over two years with funding from Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and CAPE UK.
Called Imaginary Communities, it benefits 40 classes of children across 10 primary and secondary schools in Yorkshire. With more cash support secured for the 2016-17 academic year, Chol has high hopes that the programme will be rolled out to children across the UK.
Research showed that ‘at risk’ children needed to regain trust of the school environment and develop more positive control over their own learning to enable them to feel physically and emotionally safe.
Imaginary Communities targets this head on, and has been proven to reduce school exclusions by more than 80% and increase attainment and literacy by over 70%.
Vicky Sawka, creative projects director at Chol Theatre, said: “It’s fun and enjoyable, nothing is forced and the children respond positively. Even the teachers make up their own characters as nothing is set in stone. The art-form establishes a more creative, cultural and responsive learning environment, developing personal, social, communication and creative skills.”
Dr Jenny Hughes, senior lecturer at the University of Manchester, said: “The Imaginary Communities programme is a real gift for teachers because there’s an opportunity to be really creative inside a constrained and constraining curriculum.”
For more information about Imaginary Communities, which also helps higher ability children and those who speak English as an additional language, contact Vicky on 01484 536008 or email her on vicky@choltheatre.co.uk
James, whose name has been changed, was in Year 4 at Ashbrow Junior School, Sheepridge.
Identified as someone who needed additional support, he was on a personalised behaviour chart, needed several ‘time-outs’ a day and received internal exclusions.
Being a part of Imaginary Communities had an immediate positive impact on James’s behaviour. His class teacher and a drama practitioner from Chol, noted that he had a particular skill for improvising and was able to add interesting twists in stories.
He engaged straight away in the Imaginary Communities sessions, wanting to put forward his ideas about what an imaginary Viking settlement would be like.
Each week James’s confidence grew and his character developed a significant plot line.
James’s teacher said: “Previously he struggled to engage and focus in drama. James thrived in Imaginary Communities sessions, which helped him adapt freely to different activities in the classroom.
“During the last three weeks of the project I found that he remained extremely focused, positive and engaged in lessons, which in turn meant there wasn’t any negative behaviour logged on his chart.
“In my eyes, his progress was even better than outstanding. We’re delighted to see that James is now genuinely keen to learn, he is committed to his writing and has excelled with his literacy outputs.”
Fran worked with the class every Tuesday and one day James hung back at playtime and approached her, saying: “I wish it could be Tuesday every day.”
