If you are in the Durbanville area...

Our Durbanville classes rock!
Well, all of our classes do but today we celebrate Durbanville.

Our teacher, Lize, is inspired and inspiring and the ever-growing class is testament to that.



Classes take place at the All Saints Church (across Durbanville Primary School) every Wednesday:

15:00 - 16:00  Lower Primary
16:00 - 17:00  Upper Primary
17:00 - 18:00  Youth Theatre

Fresh start for young drama kings and queens

The new term began last week and what an enthusiastic start we had.

Term 2 brings our Primary groups new and exciting additions to the curriculum. Our students are always keen to learn new skills as our teachers continue to equip them with the best of drama education and development.

This term is extra special as we also prepare for our mid-year Parent Day Presentations. At the Parent Days our students have the opportunity to show their parents and friends what they've learnt throughout the year. The Parent Day is a showcase of the skills our students have acquired as they perform their term favourites.

Lower Primary classes have started to work on Scene-Starters 

and continue to enjoy Whole Class Improvs

This term will see new exercises of well known activities as well as new activities for new and returning students. The curriculum is set in a way that will extend the abilities of all students and increase their knowledge and skills.

If you have children between the ages of 3 and 18 there is something for each child. Find a studio near you and sign up for a free trial lesson.

Go to our website, Facebook page or Twitter to find out more and be part of the action.

Training Day

Learning and development at Helen O' Grady is not limited to our students, it is experienced by our teachers as well.

This past weekend our Cape Town teachers; including Cape Town, Northern suburbs and Winelands and the Overberg; got together for training as we start Term 2.

Training of teachers and sharing our skills is a key aspect of the Helen O' Grady Academy world wide. As all our teachers use the international curriculum it is vital that skills are consistently updated to maintain our standard of excellence. This standard of excellence is sure to trickle down from our teachers to our students around the country and around the world.

Teachers are demonstrated the methods of teaching mini-scripts as
applied to Upper Primary students. UP students will start script work this term.

Mime to Music is not only a student favourite, our teachers
 love to teach the art as well as perform it!

You can be assured that your children are being exposed to the highest level of performance education that will not only give them the skills for drama but will also build their confidence, their creativity and communication.

Find a studio near you today!

Take a look at our website and visit our Facebook and Twitter pages for more information.

Helen O' Grady students earn gold

At Helen O' Grady we look to reward students as often as possible.

Our drama classes are full of energy and fun, and not only this, we acknowledge students who have faithfully attended and participated in our programme.

For our students starting out we have Merit Certificates which can be earned within the first year with the Academy. This ensures that even late joiners are recognised as part of the Helen O' Grady family.

The Achievement Certificates are awarded after a full year with the programme.

As the students progress, the prize increases. After 100 lessons students receive their first trophy. 100 lessons is possible after 10 terms or 2½ years. After that, learners are in line to earn trophies after 200 and 300 lessons, these are students who have been part of the family for between 5 and nearly 8 years!

Nerise Malan of Somerset West is one of many students who earned gold. Nerise, like other students around the Northern suburbs and Winelands area have been with us from Primary class days and is now part of the Youth Theatre programme.

Awards are presented to students twice a year. The presentations take place at our Mid-Year Parent Day and at the Year-End Production.

Start winning with Helen O' Grady today.

Take a look at our website, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all the info you may need and for weekly updates.

Drama for ALL

Schools all over the world benefit from the wonderful programmed delivered by Helen O' Grady Drama Academy. Students from the age of 3 to 18 are equipped with skills in communication, creativity and performance. Presenting the drama programme at schools enhances school life for all children, it challenges them to think creatively and also encourages them to explore thoughts, dreams and ideas. The programme is not, however, limited to public, private and government schools. We also service Montessori schools.

Rainbow Montessori in Durbanville is new to Helen O' Grady and already students are showing a keen interest in all aspects of the curriculum.

The Rainbow Academy Primary Composite students enjoy all the
activities that form part of the weekly drama lesson.

Chameleons Montessori have been part of the Helen O' Grady family for a few years and the school extends the programme to the youngest learners. Teacher, Lize Goosen enjoys interacting with the young drama kings and queens as they get a head start in their development.

The Kindy students showcase their performance skills during the
Music themed lessons.

Would you like Helen O' Grady to come to your school?

Contact us for a demonstration class: 021 913 3635 or mari@helenogrady.co.za

We can't wait to hear from you.

Improv is key at Helen O'Grady

Teaching ad-lib and improv skills is central to Helen O Grady curriculum. Improv has proved to be a vital component in the development of communication skills. Learning to improvise equips learners to be responsive, think and react quickly, change mistakes into useful moments and even build and develop the script and story. Our learners are exposed to this from their first lesson with Helen O' Grady and will take it with them to the stages throughout their careers.

Below we see the De Tyger Primary students performing an Improv, The Mine Disaster.

If you would like your children or students to learn these skills and many more get in touch with us.

There is a Helen O' Grady class for every age group and we are all around the Cape.

Visit www.helenogrady.co.za for more information. Or take a look at our Facebook and Twitter pages.

We can't wait to hear from YOU!

World class drama at your school

Our drama classes are not only run at studios, but also at schools. As all educators know, creative thinking is a vital element that forms part of all student's complete education.

Unfortunately, many schools are not able to accommodate or afford additional creative elements to the student's activities.

Helen O Grady offers the perfect alternative: taking the drama to the schools!

At no additional cost to your school, Helen O Grady teachers travel to schools, public and private, to present the finest in drama classes.

One of our afterschool programmes is at De Tyger Primary where students enjoy high energy, world renowned lessons in drama. As with the studios, afterschool programmes are presented to all age groups and no student is excluded. Rather than disrupting other afterschool activities, the drama programme enriches them. The De Tyger students are always full of enthusiasm as modelled by their teacher, Mari Crafford. Crafford encourages full participation and all the students enjoy this all inclusive outlet for their creativity.

De Tyger, Lower Primary and Upper Primary students enjoying speech and improv activities.

Would you like Helen O Grady Drama Academy to come to your school?

Head on over to our website, or see details at the top of this page.

Welcome back!

Today marks the beginning of Term 3 and it is going to be an exciting term packed with drama! The Parents' Days were wonderful and demonstrated the fantastic teaching of our dedicated teachers. Students will start rehearsing their plays near the end of this term. We have some amazing productions lined up for this year.

We have been operating in Cape Town for 15 years and over 30 years internationally, using an inspired and highly educational drama curriculum. The children have great fun learning and this programme is a great addition to a child's education. What is more, the children quickly make new friends and the younger one's develop effective socialisation skills.

We are proud of our children's development and parents can quickly see the results of this holistic programme which inspires and motivates all the young people.

Kuilsriver Parents' Day a huge success!

Jennifer Pietersen, the teacher at the Helen O'Grady Kuilsriver Studio, is seen rehearsing with some of her pupils before the Parents' Day Presentations. It was the most fantastic show. The children have shown excellent development and we are very proud of her achievements!

Parents' Day at the Stellenbosch Studio

Parents and friends were able to see their children in dramatic action, and experience, first-hand, how the Academy's international programme develops confidence, self-esteem, communication and creativity. The Academy runs its programme from age 5 -18 at the studio and you can see here the Primary age-group to Youth Theatre performing.

Parents Day at the Somerset West Studio

The Somerset West Primary class showcased a cross section of this term's curriculum, at their Parents Day Presentation on Friday. The parents got some insight into how we develop their children through the amazing Helen O'Grady drama programme!

Somerset West Youth Theatre

Our Youth Theatre Programme is a theatre-arts programme, developing our secondary school students in public speaking, presentation and performance skills. Many of our students come to our Academy to improve their confidence and speaking ability which are of course valuable life-skills. To be articulate will certainly help them to get the best jobs one day in our competitive world. Likewise many of our young people want to take performance arts as a career, and we will encourage them all the way, as this programme really develops their skills for acting in film, radio and theatre.

The Somerset West Youth Theatre group had fun performing their Mini-Scripts and Group Improvisations for family and friends on Friday!