Drama school petitions over arts cuts (From Daily Echo)

Drama school petitions over arts cuts

7:10pm Thursday 14th March 2013 in News

A DRAMA school has launched a petition against performing arts cuts.

The online petition was launched by Theatretrain, which has a group in Shirley, Southampton, in reaction to drama being removed by the Government from school syllabuses.

The current Key Stage 1 and 2 English curriculum, taught in primary schools, contains a dedicated section for drama as part of teaching, speaking and listening.

However, a new draft published in December sees drama removed from the framework.

Performing arts will also be excluded from Baccalaureate exams, which the Government has proposed to replace GCSEs.

More than 70 people have already signed the petition, which will close at the end of this year.

Karina Bull, who runs Theatretrain in Southampton, said: “Drama is so important to encourage speaking and listening skills and to build confidence in children.

“It will be such a shame if we let this fade from our schools agenda.”

Theatretrain teaches performance skills to children across the country, between six and 18 years old.

For more information about the group or to get involved, call Karina on 07971 894957 or email Southampton@ theatretrain.co.uk.

To sign the petition, visit theatretrain.

co.uk/2790/join-our-petition.