A-list film star set to teach drama class pupils
HOLLYWOOD A-lister Orlando Bloom is set to visit Cheadle Hulme High School to work with kids on a series of drama workshops.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star has been confirmed as a guest at the official launch of the new multi-academy chain, the Laurus Trust, on Friday.
The actor, who rose to fame playing elf Legolas in Lord of the Rings, will work with 11-year-olds teaching the ‘Cicero curriculum’ - a style of drama education devised by Bloom’s former teacher and world famous voice coach Patsy Rodenburg.
Actor Paapa Essiedu, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s first black Hamlet, will also attend the launch.
It is understood both actors will teach skills such as improvisation, developing a strong speaking voice, increasing presence and improving posture, facial expression and eye contact.
The Laurus Trust is a newly formed trust with Cheadle Hulme High School, the founder school, at its centre.
As well as the latest famous names, the chain already has the backing of hedge fund manager and philanthropist Andrew Law.
Bosses at the Laurus Trust confirmed the A-lister would be helping launch the new chain of academies.
A spokesman told The Sunday Times: “The thinking is that teaching these skills will not only get students interested in acting – a profession in which state school kids are now hugely underrepresented – but also boost their confidence and social ability in a way that will make all the difference when it comes to Oxbridge interviews, competition for top jobs, interviews and impressing in the workplace.”
Cheadle Hulme High is the trust’s founding school, but leaders have ambitions to open two more academies nearby.