TheSchoolRun.com closure date
As we informed you a few months ago, TheSchoolRun has had to make the difficult decision to close due to financial pressures and the company has now ceased trading. We had hoped to keep our content available through a partnership with another educational provider, but this provider has since withdrawn from the agreement.
As a result, we now have to permanently close TheSchoolRun.com. However, to give subscribers time to download any content they’d like to keep, we will keep the website open until 31st July 2025. After this date, the site will be taken down and there will be no further access to any resources. We strongly encourage you to download and save any resources you think you may want to use in the future.
In particular, we suggest downloading:
- Learning packs
- All the worksheets from the 11+ programme, if you are following this with your child
- Complete Learning Journey programmes (the packs below include all 40 worksheets for each programme)
You should already have received 16 primary school eBooks (worth £108.84) to download and keep. If you haven’t received these, please contact us at [email protected] before 31st July 2025, and we will send them to you.
We are very sorry that there is no way to continue offering access to resources and sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.
What is a play script?
What is a play script?
A play script is a piece of writing written for the stage. Your child will learn the following facts about the play scripts they read, write and perform:
- A play script will include a list of characters (at the very beginning).
- It may be divided into acts which are then divided into scenes.
- Each scene will have a description of the setting at the start and then the characters' dialogue.
- Dialogue is set out with the character's name on the left, then a colon then the dialogue (without speech marks).
- Stage directions for the actors are written every now and again in italics and brackets.
For example:
Boost Your Child's Creative Writing Skills!
- Download a FREE KS1 or KS2 workbook
- Bursting with fill-in prompt sheets and inspiring ideas
- Story structure tips, style guides and editing suggestions
How play scripts are used in primary school
Children start using drama in the Foundation Stage, where they may be asked to imagine roles and experiences and act these out.
In Key Stage 1 drama they will act out stories they know, taking on different characters and experimenting with voices, props and costumes.
In Key Stage 2 drama children are asked to act out play scripts in pairs or groups. They may then be asked to improvise scenes related to texts they have read. They then start to develop their own scripts based on these improvisations. They are taught how to set out a play script using the features shown above.
A teacher will often start by giving the children a scenario. For example: if the class were reading Cinderella, the teacher may show them a picture of the ugly sisters on the way to the ball. Children might be asked to imagine that the ugly sisters are having a conversation. What might they say to each other? Who might they be talking about? What might their hopes be for the evening? What might they say about Cinderella? Children would be encouraged to get into partners and act out this scene between the two sisters.
In Key Stage 2, this activity would most likely be followed by a lesson where children would start drafting the conversation between the two sisters. After this, they would have to write their play script up in neat, in a similar way to how the one above is set out. Teachers often give children writing frames to help them with this. The writing frame might include lines for the characters' names, followed by colons and then space for the speech. Once children have written up their play script, they may be encouraged to improve it, by adding stage directions in brackets.
Reading and writing play scripts is a great way to bring stories alive for children. Reading play scripts out loud helps them to think about using expression to convey a character's feelings. Writing play scripts encourages them to infer and deduce information about what characters are thinking and feeling from what they have already read in a story.
