It’s not all about Shakespeare – How studying Drama nurtures critical skills for future success  

Drama here at Wellington College Bangkok is a unique opportunity for students to prepare themselves for business, leadership, media, and other avenues of life. Skills such as teamwork, initiative and critical thinking are developed alongside the ability to perform. Our students work hard in project-led learning to create, develop, and perform work and regularly share what they have created with members of the whole school community. 

Of course, being a British international school, Shakespeare is naturally at the heart of Drama and English Literature learning. You will not find an English Curriculum school in the world which does not teach the works of the world’s most famous playwright. But it is the application and focus of this learning which is so important, and which develops such important transferrable skills that can be applied to many other subjects and to the future success of our students. A recent example of this is in our Senior School where students created performances of their own versions of three Shakespeare plays – “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (Year 7), “Romeo & Juliet” (Year 8) and “Macbeth” (Year 9). This involved a set of five student-led “sharings” from Years 7, 8 and 9, where students worked across a variety of disciplines to create a work of art and share it with the school community. 

Students chose which character they would play, and which parts of the Shakespeare plays they wanted to present. They wrote narration, worked to integrate musical elements to the sharing, helped choreograph physical scenes, and selected elements of the costumes. This was a truly student led project, and a shining example of how Wellington has led the world in creative education for 160 years. 

Sharings like these are a wonderful way for our whole school community to come together. Interdisciplinary learning and a whole school approach are both important parts of our unique vision of teaching and learning here. So is Authentic Assessment, which is where projects are set up to mimic real world situations, as this involves a greater range of transferrable skills as well as deeper learning, knowledge retention and understanding. 

This forward-thinking and visionary education is part of what makes Wellington College Bangkok so special and ensures students are educated and inspired in a way which guides them in their future career choices – whether that be on the stage or in the board room.