PUPILS at Rookwood School, Andover, are already celebrating this term, all thanks to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA).

The pupils, aged between eight and 14, tackled an array of LAMDA examinations ranging from Entry Level Verse and Prose to Grade 3 Solo Acting, amassing 17 distinctions and seven merits by the exams’ conclusions.

Helping the pupils achieve their goals were assistant head of the prep school Claire Abraham and peripatetic LAMDA teacher Heather Blackmore. Mrs Blackmore, who has also recently accepted a permanent position at Rookwood’s senior school, will be pivotal in mentoring the older pupils in their weekly drama classes, and arrives just in time for Rookwood’s production of Guys & Dolls at the Andover Lights in February 2015.

Headmistress Louise Whetstone congratulated the boys and girls on their achievement and commented that they “fully deserved their success after such hard work”.