- Home
- Curriculum
- Subject Information
- Drama
Head of Faculty
Subject Leader
Vision
We believe that a good drama education will have a positive physical, emotional, and social impact on our students. Drama teaches students to trust their own ideas and abilities through taking risks in class and performing for an audience. The confidence gained in drama applies to school, university, careers, and life in general.
Drama encourages students to make creative choices and interpret familiar material in new ways. As Einstein suggested, knowledge is greatly enhanced by the power of imagination.
Furthermore, Drama develops the skills of cooperation and collaboration, concentration, problem solving, and self-discipline. Several studies have demonstrated a correlation between drama involvement and academic achievement, and there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the playfulness, humour and laughter it brings to learning improves motivation and reduces stress.
Disciplinary Concepts
- To enhance aesthetic appreciation of the art form by participating in and viewing theatre.
- To cooperate and collaborate by discussing, negotiating, rehearsing, and performing
- To improve listening and observational skills and self-discipline through creative movement and drama games.
- To foster imagination by making creative choices and being prepared to justify them.
- To hone skills of empathy by acting roles from different situations, time periods, and cultures.
- To learn voice projection, articulation of words, fluency with language, and persuasive speech.
- To perform for an audience, and to be a member of an audience.
Big Questions
- What is the purpose of theatre?
- What motivates a person to make theatre?
- What motivates a person to perform?
- How can I create an authentic performance?
- Is Shakespeare relevant today?
- Can acting skills be learnt?
- How and why do actors and directors make choices?
Curriculum Content
Year 7
Term 1
Rules of the Drama Room
Building the foundations of a Playful Environment: various drama games throughout the year
Stage Walk-Ups
Desert Island Challenge
An introduction to Mime
Proverbs
Pantomimes
Term 2
Medieval Drama, Morality Plays: Chaucer; The Pardoner’s Tale; The Seven Deadly Sins
Elizabethan Drama: Shakespeare’s Macbeth
An introduction to design:
The Monkey’s Paw
Term 3
Top Dog
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Year 8
The activities below are designed to practice and develop skills and techniques introduced in Year 7.
Term 1
News Reports/ documentaries
Scripts; duologues for teens, from page to stage
Term 2
Didactic Theatre and Theatre in Education; Railway Safety
Advertising; students create their own products and advertise them
Term 3
Harry Rings, Lord of Potters
Puppetry, including designing and making puppets and puppet theatres.
Year 9
AQA GCSE Drama (8261)
Introduction to Drama
Creating a Playful Ensemble:
Shakespeare Schools Festival
Students are introduced to key Drama Skills and Techniques by working as an ensemble to take a play from page to stage.
Assessed as Texts in Practice Revision of key performance/design skills developed in the first half term; students evaluate what they have learnt in their Shakespeare performance.
This will have application to Component 1:
Understanding Drama- Knowledge and understanding of drama and theatre
Students will record key drama and theatre terms in a workbook.
Students will produce a written evaluation of their work.
Theatrical Practitioner: Stanislavski
Students will continue to explore acting skills and techniques through a variety of drama games and activities
Students keep a written Drama Diary
Component 2: Introduction to devising
Stimulus based on last term’s SSF play.
Mock Component 2 Performance
Component 1C: one question (from a choice) on the work of theatre makers in a single live theatre production
Students see a live performance
Students study this in class
Component 3: Texts in Practice
Students explore a selection of texts across a variety of styles, genres and time-periods.
Students work in groups of 2-6 to create performances.
Mock Component 3 Performance Design Skills
All students create costume or set designs for a specific design brief.
Assessed exhibition
Year 10
Component 1, Section B: Set play
Play choices
Arthur Miller: The Crucible
Willy Russell: Blood Brothers
John Buchan/Patrick Barlow; The 39 Steps
Carl Grose (Kneehigh Theatre) Hansel and Gretel
Malorie Blackman/Dominic Cooke:
Noughts and Crosses
William Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Develop knowledge and understanding of the characteristics and context of the play.
Exploring ideas for how the play may be interpreted practically.
Component 1 Mock: Section B (Performance question)
Component 1, Section B: Set Play
Design Project
All students create costume, lighting or set designs for set play.
Students learn key production roles and terms
Students take part in research activities
Students learn about the importance of costume/set/lighting/sound in creating atmosphere, highlighting themes , realising character etc
Students learn key lighting terminology etc
Students learn key sound terminology etc
Component 1 Mock: Section B
(Design Question)
Mock Component 2: Research and devising
(See Year 9 Spring 1)
Assessment: Research notes and log book
Mock Component 2: Rehearsals, performance and devising lo
Component 1, Section C
Mock question on live performance
Component 3: Performance Skills Workshops
Students explore a selection of texts across a variety of styles, genres and time periods.
Assessed Work Books: The History of Theatre
Component 3: Mock Performance
Students work in groups of 2-6 to create performances.
Students peer mark work, using AQA Assessment grid.
Feedback and teacher assessment
Year 11
Component 3: Selection of scripts.
Rehearsals
Component 2: Visiting examiner
Component 2: Devising: research and development
Component 3: Recorded performance and devising logs
Component 1: Revision of Roles and Responsibilities
Revision of set text
Theatre notes for Response to
Live Performance
Component 1: Summer examination
Year 12
AQA Drama and Theatre Studies (7262)
An introduction to key practitioners, Stanislavski, Brecht and Berkoff
Study of scripts and application of practitioners’ techniques etc
Devised performance in style of ONE of these practitioners – assessed
Set text: Hedda Gabler
Scripted Performance
Response to Live Theatre
Year 13
TBC
Will include: monologues, devising and study of second text.