On Monday 9 June five Year 7 girls left JAGS at 8.35 in the morning. We were going to take part in a Drama Day! We met in Reception in jeans and a tee-shirt and were taken to Dulwich College, where the event was to be held – and we really were in for a treat! We knew we were going to have fun, but we weren’t entirely sure what was going to happen.

Drama Day is one of a number of events organised by SSLP (Southwark Schools' Learning Partnership) For example, JAGS hosted a PE Day in May, and there was a concert in Southwark Cathedral.  SSLP encourages pupils and  teachers from state and independent schools to mix, bond, and share ideas, while learning. The partnership has been going for ten years.

When we arrived we were shown the Edward Alleyn Theatre and then we met all the other schools. It was really fun and we all made new friends. We played ice-breakers to help our concentration and to get the whole group of forty to get used to working together. We split into five groups of eight, with one pupil from each school, so that we didn’t know anyone. Then the magic began!  Working on the theme of Dreams, we had to create a sequence which would become part of a performance for our parents at the end of the day. We would start and end the performance as a whole company, then each group would weave from the ensemble  its own interpretation. In my group, we explored practically different aspects of dreams, such as randomness, nightmares and fantasies. Another group had the idea of swapping places, with boys exchanging their journeys to school as girls and  girls as boys, which was funny. The theatre had brilliant effects including rich, coloured lighting, striking music and a smoke machine, which made the mood more dream- like.

The day ended with a performance which parents came to watch. I loved every minute of Drama Day, and I know Tosin did too (It was fantastic meeting people that I wouldn’t have had the chance to get to know otherwise). On behalf of everyone, I want to say thank you to all the people (including the children!) for making Drama day possible.

Lilian Barker, Year 7