Drama
Drama focuses on the development of what we call the four Cs: creativity, collaboration communication and culture.
Drama prepares our students for academic and working life through the development of emotional intelligence, skills for performance and presentations, as well as wider employability skills. These include communication, teamwork, leadership, dialogue, negotiation, confidence and socialising. Drama stimulates the imagination and creativity of our students by exploring a range of themes, forms, texts, practitioners and theatre history periods.
Through the study of drama we are preparing our young people to engage with the arts beyond their time at school. The transferrable skills gained from the study of Drama can be used in all career paths.
Key Stage 3
Students explore a range of topics, themes and plays whilst developing their performance skills and confidence. We raise expectations by ensuring students participate, present and perform every lesson. Students develop a number of skills including still images, thought tracking, transitions, hot seating and role play and enhance these skills closely studying a variety of scripts across the year.
What will students learn?
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How will students be assessed?
Students are assessed during a practical assessment and written self-assessment through evaluation and reflection. This happens in lessons and through homework setting. Throughout the half term students build on key performance skills in Drama and practically demonstrate these at the end of each unit of work. All written assessments are marked and kept in individual student folders, building up a picture over the year of the students’ progress.
Key Stage 4
Drama at key stage 4 is taught as an option subject in year 10 and 11 which students can choose. Students are immediately equipped with the key skills, practitioner knowledge and confidence through practical exploration, key themes and script/extract study. At GCSE we use the Pearson Edexcel examining board which includes many practical exam elements but also a written exam component. Students study a specific playtext for this and using key written practice and paragraph structuring respond to exam style questions throughout the year.
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How is the course assessed?
The GCSE consists of 3 key components.
Component 1: Devising
Students respond to a theme or brief and create their own devised performance from this. Alongside this the students need to write a 2000 word portfolio based on the work they have created and the process. This is all developed and supported through lessons and a portfolio support booklet.
Component 2: Performance from a text
Students perform 2 key extracts from a published play to a visiting examiner. This component is purely practical and marked on the day of performance. We prepare for these performances in lessons through practitioner study, careful teacher selection of scripts and rehearsal.
Component 3: Theatre makers in practice
Students will sit a 1 hour 45-minute written exam in the summer term. There are two sections to the exam paper. Section A is Page to stage with a focus on how students would perform, direct or design a specific extract from a studied play of ‘An Inspector calls’ by JB Priestly or ‘DNA’ by Dennis Kelly. Section B is a live theatre review based on a live production seen by the students. Students need to describe the performance and how production elements are used. This is taught in lessons and exam practice questions are completed weekly. Mock exams set throughout the 2 years will be base on component 3.