L.A.M.D.A is the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.

LAMDA is one of the leading drama schools in the English-speaking world and conducts the most eminent set of public examinations in speech and drama.

It was formed in 1861, making the Academy the oldest of its kind in Britain, with a long-established reputation for excellence. Providing training for, and examinations in, various musical disciplines was originally the dominant purpose of the institution. However, providing instruction in spoken English quickly became a core area of the Academy’s work.

In the 1880s, LAMDA began offering speech examinations to the public. Since then, these examinations have been refined and developed into a comprehensive system of performance evaluation. LAMDA Examinations has emerged as the largest Speech and Drama Board in the United Kingdom, with an international reputation.

Lutterworth Performing Arts Centre is registered as a L.A.M.D.A examination centre, which means that once students are ready to be examined they will have their exam held here, at the Centre, by London adjudicators.

We run several hours of one hour classes here at the Performing Arts Centre each week for students aged 8 and over. Adult graded classes are available.

When students are enrolled they are assessed over the course of four weeks to ascertain the grade at which they should be studying for. They are then placed in the appropriate peer group for their ability. There is no specific time-scale to the examination timetable. Students will be entered for examinations when they are considered ready to attain a pass. Exam entry fees will be payable by the student or parent/guardian of student.

Once again, it is stressed that these are not performance classes, but are specifically held with a view to the students achieving benchmark progress through examinations. This said, they are designed in the spirit of the school, in that students will certainly have fun whilst they are studying and developing their skills.

Once the student achieves grade six of the examination board process then this level qualifies for UCAS points, which can be useful for students that are going on to further education through university. The grades are also universally recognised for students that may wish to pursue a career in performing arts.

It is equally important to understand that the underlying value of these lessons and achievements are to help the student to gain confidence in themselves and to build upon their own value of self worth.