3,802 miles

After school on Tuesday 29 November four of our A Level students performed 3,802 miles to an audience of peers, parents and staff, as part of their A Level Drama assessment. Connie B., Estelle C., Jessica F., and Caitlin J. devised, wrote, directed, choreographed, designed and performed the piece, which follows the journey of four female refugees who flee their home countries and hope to find asylum in England.

The girls researched their theme extensively and the performance provided insight into some of the extreme measures refugees use to try and avoid detection. For instance, in the back of a lorry refugees breathe into plastic bags at the Calais crossing to try to avoid boarder police detecting carbon dioxide. The performance also highlighted many of the dangers posed to refugees, such as being taken advantage of by those who have promised safe passage; walking for many, many, more miles than they have been led to believe; being driven by drunk HGV drivers, as this can lead to a lesser sentence if the driver is caught assisting refugees (as he can claim he was unaware of their presence); and the perilous journey across the sea in overcrowded boats.

The characters were portrayed using Afghan and Syrian accents, which the girls had studied and honed through watching documentaries such as the BBC’s Exodus, and were based on personal accounts as well as current events. The girls chose this story for their A Level work as they “felt it was important to speak out, on behalf of the refugees, and show what their life is like and the struggles they go through to find safety. In 2015, over 1 million refugees escaped to Europe in order to flee war and persecution.”

In the Q&A session after the performance, the group was keen to find out whether the audience had been moved, shocked, or inspired to act on behalf of refugees – and the response was a resounding ‘YES’ to all! Congratulations to the girls on creating such an emotional, yet factual, piece to highlight an issue that clearly resonates with so many in our school community, and, as ever, thanks to the fantastic team in the Drama department, especially Ms Esther Roberts and Mrs Jane Oliver, for working with the girls to produce such a moving piece.