Testimonials
From Parents
“We have watched both our son and daughter grow in confidence since Lucy has been teaching them Speech and Drama. Lucy has a natural affinity with children and teenagers; an innate ability to connect with them and encourages them to develop their potential.”
Tracy, parent
“Thank you so much for being such an amazing teacher. You have truly been an inspiration to our son. He feels so lucky to have had you as his teacher. We thank you for helping him to express his creative side and the confidence you have given him is priceless. They say that a teacher is a guide and compass. You have certainly shown him the path to success and walked with him along the way.”
K Lawrence, parent
“Thank you so much for my daughter’s wonderful speech and drama lessons. The confidence she has gained from them has been fantastic, you go above and beyond! She has loved every minute and you have inspired her so much that she now dreams of being on the West End stage!”
Hannah, parent
“Through Lucy’s wide voice teaching repertoire, experience and infectious enthusiasm, my
children have gained real confidence and clarity both in performance and speaking publicly.
They love their lessons, Lucy’s creativity and her attention to detail.”
Ruth, parent
“[It’s] given my daughter the skills she needs in order to have her words heard,
regardless of the context.”
C Holyoake, parent
From Teachers
“Lucy Willis was the provider of Peripatetic Speech and Drama teaching from Autumn 2013-2019. Lessons were held weekly during term times and arranged with parents on an individual basis (with the exception of September 2019-20 when she took a sabbatical to study a Master’s degree in Professional Voice Practice).
Generally, when she first started teaching at the school, there was some sceptism about the lessons: how would lessons affect children’s learning? What use could these lessons be to the pupils? One teacher even commented on the fact that these children ‘are all in a good area, so why would they need specialist lessons’. As time went on, I could definitely see the impact these lessons were having on the children in my class (12 out of 28 during 2018/19).
They seemed generally happier and were keen to share their knowledge of what they had learnt in their speech and drama class by demonstrating what they had learnt.
Their language skills were being developed all the time.
One quiet child was able to work out the meaning of words because she had understood how a character had felt; she was then able to use that knowledge in her own writing.
They became more determined. They began to believe that they could take major parts in the school plays (usually given to the older year 5-6 pupils) or give readings in church.
This was because they had developed the skills to do this even though they were years younger.
Some children had used the sessions to develop their own skills as poets and authors, by producing their own work to read out in competitions.
They became teachers themselves. The children who had not received speech and drama lessons were keen to know what made these speech and drama pupils so expressive and keen. Naturally the speech and drama pupils would show what they had learnt to the other children, usually on the playground as part of their play.
Generally, I found that children who did not necessarily shine within the classroom setting would somehow be able to turn into a child who was unrecognisable when asked to act out a short piece of drama. This did wonders for their self-esteem and kudos within their peer group.
Also, it was noted that the work was not gender specific.
The speech and drama lessons catered for all individuals, including their SEN.”
Mrs C Cowper, Class Teacher – Shropshire Primary School
