Drama enables boys to explore characters and situations, develop their imaginations and learn performance skills. Drama is highly valued at The Beacon, and the boys work to a high standard. In the last two years we have had three Drama Scholarships awarded, to Oundle, Berkhamsted and Shiplake College.

Drama facilities at The Beacon include a purpose-built Drama Studio, sound and lighting equipment, costume store and flexible staging.

In the Lower School:

• Christmas Production 
• Annual Poetry Recital Competition 
• Weekly Circle Time and PSHE sessions, with role play
• Termly visit by professional company Perform, who do workshops with Reception and Years 1 & 2
• Weekly 'Show and Tell', in which the boys practise speaking out loud to an audience 
• Incidental drama and role play in lessons across the curriculum
• Use of puppets in Reception and Nursery
• Role play areas in Reception and Nursery classrooms, with costumes and props for imaginative and role play activities
• Year 2 theme days: the boys dress up and assume the roles of Mexicans and World War 2 children
• Theatre visits when appropriate (last year Reception went to the Wycombe Swan to see The Gruffalo's Child)

In the Middle School:

• Year 3 informal drama evening
• Year 4/5 Production – a full-scale musical with lights, sound and costumes, on the stage in the hall
• A weekly class lesson – skills covered include devising from text, improvisation, mime and role play, with much of the work being linked to the English curriculum
• Individual examinations with the English Speaking Board

In the Upper School:

• Year 6 informal drama evening
• Year 7/8 Production – a full-scale play or musical with lights, sound and costumes, on the stage (with opportunity for experience of technical theatre)
• Annual House Debating Competition
• Year 8 have timetabled lessons in rotation with Music and Music ICT
• Year 8 theatre trip in the Summer Term
• Year 7/8 Shakespeare workshop - a half-day workshop delivered by a visiting theatre company
• Drama Club as part of Options 
• After-school Drama Club
• Optional small group acting lessons leading to Trinity Guildhall exams
• Suitable candidates are prepared individually for Senior School Drama Scholarships

Recent productions include:

• Bugsy Malone – Upper School Production 2004
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Year 6 Production 2005
• Lord of the Flies – Upper School Production 2005
• The Boy King - Middle School Production 2006 
• Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat – Year 6 Production 2006
• Merrick – Upper School Production 2006
• A Present for the Baby – Lower School Production 2006
• Blastoff – Middle School Production 2007
• Oliver – Upper School Production 2007
• Robin Hood - Middle School Production 2008
• The Wind in the Willows – Upper School Production 2008
• Honk! - Upper School Production 2009
• Bugsy Malone - Upper School Production 2010