The Magic of Musicals at Lewis School of English

Students at the Lewis School’s Winchester Junior Centre had the chance to prepare and perform a well-known musical show as part of their English & Theatre course.

The programme, for ages 11-17, helps students to develop their performance skills as well as their pronunciation and fluency in English. What’s particularly appealing is that the scripts are adaptations of popular musicals such as The Lion King, Wicked, Matilda and School of Rock.

Singing, dancing and acting all form part of the course, which is open to students of all levels of English (roles are assigned according to interest and ability). Theatre sessions are led by a drama professional, who helps the students bring the text to life, building up to a final performance which can be filmed as a record of students’ achievement.

As well as 12 hours of theatre sessions per week, the programme includes 15 hours of project-based General English classes, where students join those on other courses. They also take part in a vibrant range of evening activities and weekly full-day and half-day trips to destinations such as London, Oxford and the south coast. Residential accommodation is provided on-campus at the University of Winchester in single en-suite rooms.

Nacho from Spain found the experience a highly memorable and motivating one, describing his English lessons as “interactive and innovative” and the theatre sessions as “very cool”.

“You get to learn a lot of acting skills and you make a lot of new friends from other countries... It’s really fun to hang out with your friends and do theatre together.”

Visit the Lewis School of English website to find out more.