Drama

General Subject Overview

‘To provide opportunities for students to develop their creativity, skills and confidence for the future’.

“Like theatre, Drama in schools can unlock the use of imagination, intellect, empathy and courage. Through it, ideas, responses and feelings can be expressed and communicated. It carries the potential to challenge, to question and to bring about change.”

In the Drama department, students create, perform and respond to a number of stimuli, plays and topics in order to develop their communication, creativity, confidence and skills. We develop pupils’ independence, creativity and team-work. There is an emphasis on communicating and working as part of a group in order to develop skills and their drama technique. Throughout the course students experience and develop a range of drama techniques, skills and genres, as well as acquiring numerous employability skills for the future.

KS3 (Years 7-9)

Year 7

In Year 7 students are introduced to the subject of drama and will learn essential performance skills and drama techniques throughout the year. Students will use their knowledge of these techniques as we move through the course to devise their own pieces of drama based on a number of different stimulus. We will also explore drama texts within schemes, in which students will create characters and use drama techniques to explore a script. Students also undertake a musical theatre unit in which they will explore characterisation and acting for a musical.

Year 8

Students extend and enhance skills learnt in Year 7 throughout the year. We will continue to develop the techniques learnt as we explore and variety of stimulus. We will study units of work which exploring different genres, including horror and comedy, as well as studying real life events such as Rosa Parks, and a script towards the end of the year. During the course in Year 8 students will start to explore lighting and sound design and use these technical theatre elements alongside their practical work.

Year 9

Year 9 provides an opportunity to embed skills learnt in Years 7 and 8. Drama is delivered through the Performing Arts rotation in Year 9 alongside dance, music and musical theatre. In Drama, students will develop their performance and characterisation skills. Students perform scripted and devised work, working in groups, pairs and on their own. Students are encouraged to be creative, imaginative and express their own opinion on the given stimuli when devising and evaluation performances.

KS4 (Years 10-11)

Year 10

During Year 10 students’ study ‘An Inspector Calls’ as the set text for the C3 exam. They will also explore the first unit of the GCSE exam – devising. Students will use a stimulus to devise a piece of drama. They will use research, drama strategies and techniques to explore the stimulus before creating a piece of drama in a group ready for performance. Throughout the unit students will develop skills such as voice, physicality, characterisation and communication with other actors. Students will produce a portfolio alongside the practical performance which will include initial responses to the stimulus, the rehearsal process and analysis of the piece devised.

Year 11

The first part of Year 11 will see the students focus on the second unit of the exam. Students will perform two extracts from a text for a live audience and examiner. Students will develop knowledge and understanding of the text and rehearse two key extracts for the final performance. Students will use skills such as characterisation, vocals and physicality to interpret the text and create a character for performance. Students will also undertake a written exam in Year 11. The exam is split into two parts, the study of a performance text and a live theatre evaluation.