King Edward's has introduced a new initiative in the school's creative arts family in the shape of LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) Acting exams.

Judy Heckstall-Smith is a professional actor who teaches Drama (1st - 5th Form GCSE) and trained at the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and she has guided the first six pupils through their examinations. All six passed: four with Merit and two with Distinction. The examinations (Level 2, Grade 5) took place in Haywards Heath (West Sussex) and consisted of chosen monologues or duologues which the pupils presented to an external LAMDA examiner. These pupils will now proceed to the next level in this field which will reward them with all-important UCAS points when they pass.

LAMDA exams occur on a termly basis so the training is fairly intense, taking place once a week for each pupil, either in paired or single classes. As the exam day approaches, pupils begin to get very nervous but the actual exam session is over in about 15 minutes, possibly the least arduous test anyone could hope for. The pieces are performed, questions are posed regarding the staging of the chosen text, the style of the period, the use of voice, knowledge of stage directions and the context of the monologue/duologue and suddenly it is all over. Ten periods of rehearsal per term for a quarter of an hour's scrutiny - not bad for a pristine Pass certificate and the prospect of scaling the LAMDA Acting levels towards UCAS point accumulation.