TO INFINITY AND BEYOND! It has been another really successful year for LAMDA students and Drama Club this year. We have had a record number of students taking part in LAMDA tuition this year, the highest there has ever been in the four years since it started here at Handsworth Grammar School. Students have been studying Acting (Solo and Duo) scenes from Grade 3 up to Grade 5, Public Speaking Exams from Grade 3 up to Grade 7; and our first ever Reading for Performance Exam at Grade 6! It is a big responsibility to take on a LAMDA exam. Leaving lessons for half an hour a week means that the students have to catch up with everything they have missed, but I believe that it teaches the students valuable lessons in time- keeping, organisation and being responsible for their own learning. All the students this year have achieved this, along with great focus, concentration, determination and energy. A huge well done! At Easter, some of the students were ready to take their exams at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire – Acting (Millennium Point). These students really did myself and the school proud with their conduct on the day and with their results: Joshua Roberts – 8A – Grade 4 Acting – 85/100 – Distinction Brandon Masih – Year 12 – Grade 7 Public Speaking – 69/100 – Merit Cameron Amin – 9W – Grade 5 Acting – 62/100 – Pass Reece Qureshi – 8N – Grade 4 Mime – 74/100 – Merit Rohan Kumar Nath – 10N – Grade 6 Reading for Performance – 72/100 – Merit Congratulations to the above students! In July there will be a further 16 students taking LAMDA Exams. I am really looking forward to them being able to perform for the London examiners and show them how hard they have been working. In Drama Club this year, the students have chosen the scene they would like to work on. It is from Disney Pixar’s Toy Story and the students have been using their skills in characterisation and voice-acting to really bring the toys alive. What a brilliant year! 27