The Birmingham Rep & Harper Bell School Partnership
The Birmingham Repertory Theatre (The Rep) is proud to be working in partnership with Harper Bell Seventh Day Adventist School as part of its Education Programme. This programme is built on a simple belief: long‑term creative experiences help children grow in confidence, communication, and learning. Through curriculum‑linked drama, The Rep supports schools in meeting National Curriculum objectives and Ofsted's focus on literacy, spoken language, enrichment and personal development.
The Rep currently works with 18 schools across the West Midlands, and Harper Bell is one of these valued partner schools.
What will this look like for pupils?
An experienced drama practitioner from The Rep visits the school one day a week for the full academic year. Sessions are carefully planned to suit each year group and are always:
- Age‑appropriate
- Inclusive
- Supportive of the school curriculum
Practitioners work closely with teachers to understand what pupils are learning in class and to make sure drama supports whole‑school priorities.
Through fun, practical activities, drama is used to support:
- Confidence and self‑expression
- Speaking and listening (oracy) skills
- Teamwork and cooperation
- Social and emotional development
Examples of What Children Might Explore
Drama activities are linked directly to learning in the classroom. Work covered as part of our partnership with the school so far includes:
- Year 2 - Pupils become "fairy tale fixers", using drama to support familiar characters in solving problems. Through role‑play and storytelling, children deepen their comprehension and understanding as part of their traditional Fairy Tales unit.
- Year 3 - Children develop imaginative reinterpretations of well‑known poems and stories, such as The Iron Man. Drama is used to explore language, character and narrative structure, linking creatively with the History topic From the Stone Age to the Iron Age.
- Year 4 - Pupils step back in time to meet characters from Industrial Britain, using drama to explore how children's lives have changed across different historical periods, supporting the History unit How Children's Lives Have Changed Through the Ages.
- Year 6 - Shakespeare comes alive as pupils transform classic stories into news reports. Drama-based approaches support deeper understanding, critical thinking and confident spoken language within the English unit on Shakespeare.
Supporting Staff and Learning Beyond the Classroom
Alongside work with pupils, teachers benefit from skills‑sharing and collaborative planning, helping them feel confident using drama techniques in their own lessons in the future.
The partnership also offers after‑school drama clubs, where children can build drama skills in more depth and work towards performance opportunities.
A special celebration at The Rep
In July, pupils from Harper Bell will be invited to The Birmingham Rep Theatre for a celebratory visit. During this exciting day, children will:
- Perform on one of The Rep's main stages
- Watch and support their peers
- Take part in a backstage tour
- Learn about the theatre's history and the many roles involved in producing performances
Families will be invited to celebrate this special moment with us, giving children the chance to perform in a professional theatre and take pride in their achievements.
