About

Teacher, director and examiner

More than twenty years in drama, from school stages and professional theatre to the LAMDA exam room.

Your teacher

Sophie Jones

I've spent my career in drama, and I still love watching a student find their voice.

I founded Chalkpit Theatre Arts in 2019, the same year I became a LAMDA examiner. I've taught and examined every subject, from Acting and Musical Theatre to Public Speaking and PCertLAM, so I know exactly what examiners are looking for and how to help students shine on the day.

For more than twenty years I've worked as a drama teacher, director and freelance theatre practitioner, and taught English too. I've been a Head of Drama, directed many productions, worked in professional theatre, and taught in the UK and overseas. I trained in Applied Theatre with Young People at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

That's why Chalkpit is about more than exams. LAMDA gives students a goal to aim for, but the real prize is the confidence, creativity and presence they carry into everything else.

My classes are warm, lively and inclusive. I believe every student learns best when they feel safe to play, try and be brave.

Sophie Jones
Drama for every learner

A place where every child can shine

I've worked extensively with students with a wide range of special educational needs and learning differences. For many of them, drama is where they first discover what they're good at.

My degree was split equally between Theatre Studies and the Arts Therapies. On the therapies side, I studied dance, drama, music and art therapy, alongside psychological and therapeutic theory and practice, with a psychoanalytic approach. I'm also qualified in SEND to Level 2.

My lessons are drama lessons, not therapy. But that training shapes how I teach: noticing what each child needs, giving feelings a safe place to go, and building trust before asking anyone to perform.

  • Spoken, not writtenLAMDA exams are performed and discussed aloud, so students who find writing hard can show what they really know.
  • Small, clear stepsThe graded structure breaks progress into achievable goals, with a recognised certificate at every stage.
  • Emotional literacy through poetryExploring the moods and feelings in a poem gives students words for their own emotions, and a safe distance to talk about them.
  • Rhythm, memory and readingLearning verse by heart builds memory, sequencing and reading fluency through rhythm and rhyme.
  • Confidence and self-esteemStanding up and being heard, and applauded, does wonders for a child who has struggled elsewhere.
  • Adjustments that workLAMDA offers reasonable adjustments for exams, and lessons are paced and adapted for each student.
A world of theatre

Every culture has a stage

A lifelong love of travel has taken me across all seven continents, and I've been lucky enough to teach in Thailand, Colombia and Japan. Wherever I go, I'm drawn to the places where people gather to tell their stories, through song, ritual, festival and performance.

Those encounters shape everything I do. They remind me that theatre belongs to everyone, and they bring new styles, stories and ways of seeing into my teaching, so students discover just how many ways there are to tell a story.

Sophie on a desert dune at sunset
Sophie beside carved stone monuments in Tbilisi
Sophie at a waterfall with a rainbow
Sophie scuba diving beside an underwater stone head

Ready to take the stage?

Ask about places, fees, or which course would suit best.

Send an enquiry or call 07545 330089