We were delighted to have some very talented actors from UpFront Theatre with us for the whole day last Monday. UpFront Theatre is an educational theatre company that works closely with the PSHE Association to create interactive plays and workshops which explore various PSHE topics.
The beauty of this is that they can create characters who are very relatable to the students and act out some challenging scenarios. They then have the opportunity to ‘rewind’ and act out the scene in a different way, based on feedback from the students in the audience.
‘In Harm’s Way’ is an interactive play that follows three Year 9 students’ lives, explores mental health and self-harm and the different forms this can take, and looks at positive coping mechanisms. The play was performed to Year 8 students from St Lawrence College and The Archbishops School, supported by East Kent Schools Together and a second performance for our students in Year 9 and 10 students.
‘The Awkward Chat’ is an interactive workshop in which students from our 6th form explored healthy and unhealthy relationships, consent, responsibility and risk-taking. Again the actors created characters and scenes which were utterly convincing and engaged brilliantly with the students allowing them to see the consequences of risky behaviour in a safe learning environment.
