insideKENT Magazine Issue 24 - March 2014 | Page 47

EDUCATION

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Cobham Hall
Half of all Cobham Hall girls take formal drama lessons at any given time, but all girls at Cobham
will be dramatically involved one way or another throughout their time at the school.
We don’t believe that theatrics should be
confined to drama lessons or the dramatic
elite. We expect and encourage all girls
to participate in plays, festivals and skits
of the comic or serious kind across many
different subjects and events. Drama can
be found in a medieval feast, in assemblies,
talent shows and court room scenes
performed entirely in Latin.
What’s the point here? Cobham’s Head
of Drama, Kym Martin, provides an insight.
Drama, she says, is about more than the
ability to act. Risk-taking, creative thinking,
problem-solving, team work,
communication, initiative and courage are
all part of the process for any performance.
Our approach to drama highlights some
important things about life at Cobham
and the kind of education we believe in.
The most obvious is the idea that not all
education takes place in classrooms. It is
entirely possible that some of the most
important things girls learn at school –

47

those that help them live successful, happy
lives – will not happen during lessons.
Our belief that learning and experience
are connected and that no activity, lesson
or thought should exist in isolation is
something else that proves the worth of
extra-curricular activities – dramatic or
otherwise – in developing multi-facetted
characters. That these kinds of events,
usually undertaken for pure enjoyment,
contribute to better performance in
examinations – we’ve just had our best
GCSE results ever – is another wonder of
a fully connected, integrated, interactive
education.
The aim? To instil in girls an enthusiasm
for uncharted waters – a desire to conquer
the unknown; to understand themselves
and the world better and to be amazed
at what they find.
www.cobhamhall.com