Music and Drama Studio

LPS Studio

7 in 10 children throughout school state that Drama is their favourite ‘subject’.

Mr Sumner – Artistic Director

Mrs Darby – Master Choristers and Music Specialist teacher

Mr Smith, Mr Crane, Mr Banks, Mrs Bates,  peripatetic teachers for Piano, Guitar, Violin, Flute, Brass etc.

• Children take part in weekly drama sessions and musical theory and instrumental sessions.  Years 4 and 5 can take a place in the school choir and all the school also take part in whole school weekly celebrations of song.
• All classes perform in class led assemblies.
• All classes perform in church at least 6 times a year.
• All classes take part in a full class production during each school year.
• All KS1 and KS2 classes take part in termly opportunities to debate and vote.
• All classes take part in choral speaking (a group speaking- often using various voice combinations and contrasts to bring out the meaning or tonal beauty of a passage of poetry or prose)
• Children also perform annually in musical concerts, at local residential homes, the over 50s group and Longton lights.
• The studio also welcomes visiting performances in both theatre and musical terms such as Galloways Choir and Initiate theatre
• Each year children also experience visiting a theatre to watch a professional performance.

Longton Primary School has always valued and sees the strength that the performing arts has on developing pupils’ character, supporting their wellbeing and as an enabler for them to be their best selves.  We believe that having opportunities to perform in drama and music supports a child be confident in speaking and listening skills, extending vocabulary and encouraging children to understand and express different points of view, empathise and negotiate.  We believe this will stand them in good stead for future life opportunities because the children will strengthen their ability to express themselves fluently and grammatically, think and act creatively, develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, teamwork and collaboration that can be applied in all areas of learning.  Through drama and music, children are encouraged to take responsible roles and make choices – to participate in and guide their own learning. Music and drama education foster greater work ethic and discipline in children. Children learn from an early age that hard work, determination, and a positive mindset are all you need to succeed, but with those characteristics, continual practice is required. Children learn that improving musical and dramatical performance does not come easy, as it requires hours of study and practice. Through this, children gain a greater concept of focused work and learn to discipline themselves to reach goals.  It is important to note that those life skills will positively impact a child when entering the workforce, completing tasks. 

Dramatic and musical activity is a natural part of most children’s lives before they start school in the form of make-believe play, enabling them to make sense of their own identity by exploring meaningful fictional situations that have parallels in the real world. This is utilised at Longton through structured play, drama and musical opportunities to encourage children to learn actively and interactively throughout the primary years and across the curriculum. Children like to move and to interact with others. In drama and music we ask them to do exactly this. Rather than sitting still and listening they are encouraged to move, speak and respond to one another. Children who are challenged by reading and writing often respond more positively to the imaginative and multi-sensory learning offered by drama and music. Drama and music gives children opportunities to explore, discuss and deal with difficult issues and express their emotions in a supportive environment. It enables them to explore their own cultural values and those of others, past and present.  Most importantly, drama and musical activities are fun – making learning both enjoyable and memorable.

Drama is ideal for cross-curricular learning and is a valuable tool for use in many subject areas. Drama at Longton incorporates and links to all our curriculum plans e.g. History.  Drama and music are a vehicle for excellent memory skills. Have you ever listened to a song for the first time in a long time and still remember the lyrics?  Performance increases children’s mental capabilities in multiple ways when participating in dramatic and music education. Music and Drama both fosters memorisation skills. In addition to song lyrics, children must memorise all aspects of music and scripts when preparing for a performance. Children must recall rhythms, pitches, dynamics, and several other elements all at once. Through performance children can then transfer those memory skills and multitasking to the academic classroom and employ those skills in their learning.

We also feel that taking part in such activities enables children to experience fun and laughter.