Nine Year 10 students took the journey to the National Theatre for Academy Day. We arrived early for our tours and waited patiently to start. We were greeted by an enthusiastic guide who introduced himself and gave us all neon/reflective jackets to wear throughout our tour as a matter of health and safety.

Our exploration started with the Backstage Tour at 11.15 am. The students were very impressed with the wealth of information given and they in turn asked a lot of questions which showed their interest.

Throughout the tour, students were asked questions based on what they were told.  This was a very proud moment as all the students were fully engaged and were happy to give feedback to the guide.  The students were able to view and get first-hand information on the various theatres, set ups, props, materials, productions and so on that the National Theatre had to offer. They also experienced some of the props that had been used in previous productions where they were able to try them. During our tour students got the opportunity to also glimpse some of the current productions and stage set up for them. They were given information about the idea behind each of the different rooms/theatres and how the seating worked, which enabled them to compare and contrast the rooms. We then had a break after the first tour and were able to sit outside and enjoy the scenery of the River Thames.

Our second tour started at 2 pm and was equally interesting. We were met by a second guide who took us around the building mainly focusing on the architectural set up and the reason behind the concept. It was a bit colder as most of it was conducted outside. We were given a 360 degree tour which saw us walking all the way around the National Theatre, viewing each aspect of the outside, asking and answering questions on information or aspects of the building.

Overall the students were well behaved and displayed such great interest throughout the Tours. At the end of it all we were pleased with the outcome of the day and all the students enjoyed themselves.

Tameika Murray