Drama
The Drama Curriculum
The Drama Department aims to provide students with a range of opportunities to explore plays, issues and genres in a supportive and exciting environment. Drama is a unique learning medium and we aim to provide all students with a positive environment of trust and respect where every student has an equal opportunity to participate and succeed in the work.
How are we structured?
Drama is taught for one hour a week in years 7, 8 and 9 topics are either issue or skills based or involve work on a play text. Students have the option to study Drama further with the GCSE and A level courses.
Key Stage 3 Curriculum
Year 7
Students are introduced to basic Drama skills through improvised and text based work. Examples of schemes of learning are Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ and Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. Students are encouraged to harness their natural desire to use story-telling and play imaginatively in a constructive way. They begin to learn how to evaluate work and analyse Drama as an art form.
Year 8
Students are encouraged to develop their Drama specific skills further and to become more independent. We encourage students to create longer and more in-depth pieces of work and evaluative skills are developed. Examples of schemes of learning studied include ‘Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations’ by Alan Ayckbourn and Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. Students explore a variety of specific genres including Silent Movie, comedy and Melodrama.
Year 9
Students are encouraged to work towards GCSE level in Year 9, they will study challenging Drama concepts through practitioner theory including Bertolt Brecht and Konstantin Stanislavsky. Play texts studied include ‘Oedipus Rex’ by Sophocles and ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell. Students are expected to evaluate on a regular basis using specific Drama vocabulary, where they are able to comment on and analyse the effectiveness of how elements and the Drama medium are being constructed.
So, what happens next?
Key Stage 4
Students follow the Edexcel exam syllabus; the course starts at the end of Year 9 and the course provides students with the opportunity to develop imaginative and creative skills through both practical and written work. Students will learn about different genres, theatre through history, theatre practitioners, and develop their knowledge of social, historical, political and cultural context of texts and issues. They will develop their ability to perform and develop technical knowledge of theatre and theatre directing, considering the impact that they can make on an audience as they develop the ideas that they want to communicate.
Key Stage 5
The Drama and Theatre Studies course builds on the student’s existing knowledge through the Edexcel exam syllabus. Students will widen their experiences and explore practitioner theory; they will be encouraged to experiment with new skills and techniques developing their creativity. The A Level paper involves exams in both practical exploration and written form. Students will also be expected to do performance work based on different texts and genres. We attend the theatre several times during the course to provide students with a varied experience of performance styles and practitioners.
Extra curricular opportunities
A vital part of any student’s experience is what they learn outside of the classroom through extra-curricular opportunities. In the Drama department we try to create as many free opportunities as we can. These involve Standing Ovation our Drama club run by the sixth form for KS3, where they meet once a week and produce and direct a play for family and friends and our whole school production. We also have very strong links with Chickenshed Theatre Company where the BA students lead workshops with our students as well as providing opportunities for free performances.
