Drama & Theatre
We are passionate about our subject and strongly believe that Drama, Theatre and the Performing Arts are a vital part of our school’s curriculum, and in fact, any healthy society.
Whilst we recognise that most of our students will not go on to be professional actors, they will benefit from the teamwork, empathy and confidence that Drama will teach them – we also aim to ensure that they have fun! In their Drama lessons, students will learn about how theatre has developed and changed through the ages, whist developing a variety of performance skills working individually, as part of a small group and as a whole class. We aim to show them how important dramatic performance can be, and how the theatre has influenced audiences throughout history.
We would like our students to develop a lifelong love of the performing arts in general and theatre in particular. In addition to performance skills, Drama gives students a vast number of transferable life skills, including presentation skills, team building, improved communication skills, understanding and empathy, problem-solving capability, self-confidence and resilience.
The Core Concepts
Stemming from the concept of Meaning through performance:
- Students will learn Performance skills, developing a knowledge and understanding of theatre practitioners and different genres, forms and styles of practical work. This will fall into both unscripted (improvised and devised) and scripted work, with the latter tying into both theatre history and English literature.
- Students will learn about key stages in theatre history, both in terms of the performance styles and techniques, and the society of the time, with the intent of broadening knowledge of the role of theatre throughout the ages, from Ancient Greece onwards.
- Students will explore the role of the audience, both from the perspective of the theatre maker in terms of how to manipulate performance work to create specific impacts, and from the perspective of the audience itself, in terms of reviewing and evaluating the work of their peers, and of other performers.
Key Stage 3
Year 7 - Basic skills and concepts
Key Stage 3 Drama
Our Key Stage 3 Drama curriculum is designed to develop confidence, creativity, communication skills and an understanding of theatre. Across Years 7–9, students explore a wide range of dramatic styles, practitioners and performance techniques, progressing from fundamental performance skills to creating sophisticated devised and scripted theatre. Students learn how to work collaboratively, think creatively, perform confidently and evaluate both their own work and the work of others using appropriate theatrical vocabulary.
Year 7 Foundations in Drama
Year 7 focuses on developing the core skills needed for successful performance. Students are introduced to characterisation, performance techniques and different styles of theatre, building confidence in both individual and group work.
Character Creation and Naturalistic Performance
Students explore how believable characters are created through voice, movement, facial expression and interaction. Drawing on the work of Stanislavski, they learn how actors create realistic and convincing performances whilst developing their understanding of character motivation and relationships.
Non-Naturalistic Theatre
Students are introduced to a range of non-naturalistic styles and techniques, learning how theatre can move beyond realism to communicate ideas in imaginative and engaging ways. Through creating, rehearsing and performing original work, students develop their creativity and understanding of different theatrical conventions. This will culminate in 2 extended performance pieces; one using polished improvisation, one based on a poem. Both pieces of work will utilise all the skills learnt in this unit.
Throughout the year, students begin to analyse and evaluate performance work, identifying strengths in both their own performances and those of their peers. They will also focus on the importance of an audience to performance work, exploring what it means to be a good audience.
Year 8 – Scripts, Theatre History and Performance Styles
Year 8 focuses on broadening understanding of theatre by introducing scripted performance, and key moments in theatre history.
Introduction to Script Work
Students learn how to bring a script from page to stage. Through rehearsing and performing extracts and short scenes, they develop their understanding of stage directions, character development, context and storytelling. They build upon the characterisation skills developed in Year 7 to create roles created by playwrights within scripts.
In the second half of this unit, students will begin to work with more complex texts, and to explore how theatre can be used to communicate social and political messages. They learn about Brechtian techniques and consider how context influences both performance and audience response.
Elizabethan Theatre and Shakespeare
Students investigate the conventions of Elizabethan theatre and explore the cultural significance of Shakespeare's work. Through practical workshops and performances based on Shakespearean stories and extracts, they gain an appreciation of how theatre has evolved over time. Through creation of modern day Shakespeare plays, and using extracts from a variety of Shakespeare plays, we aim to demystify the language, and create a genuine enjoyment of his plays.
Looking at the comedy within Shakespeare’s work through the creation of heightened characters, caricature and physical comedy, students will explore how to use exaggeration and theatrical techniques to entertain audiences effectively.
As in Year 7, students regularly reflect upon and evaluate performance work using increasingly sophisticated drama terminology.
Year 9 – Advanced Performance and Devising
Year 9 encourages students to refine and apply the skills they have developed throughout Key Stage 3. They explore theatre as a powerful tool for communication, education and social change.
Verbatim Theatre
Students work with scripts created from real-life interviews and testimonies, learning how authentic voices can be represented on stage. Through studying the work of practitioners such as Mark Wheeller, they explore how theatre can raise awareness of important issues and give voice to underrepresented perspectives.
Building on their understanding of verbatim performance, students explore topics that matter to them and collaboratively devise original pieces of theatre. They experiment with a range of dramatic styles and techniques, considering how performance choices influence audience impact.
Devising: Character Creation, Emotional Truth, Theatre with a Message
Returning to the work of Stanislavski, students develop more advanced characterisation skills, including emotional realism and empathy. They explore how actors create truthful and emotionally engaging performances through detailed character work and rehearsal techniques.
Students combine elements of Stanislavskian realism, Brechtian theatre and verbatim techniques to create substantial devised performances. These projects encourage students to explore contemporary issues affecting young people and to consider how theatre can educate, challenge and inspire audiences.
By the end of Year 9, students will have developed a strong foundation in performance, devising, theatre history and dramatic theory, preparing them for further study at GCSE and beyond.
- Drawing on the skills gained in Year 7, students will work with verbatim scripts, learning the techniques needed to take real stories in the words of the people involved from page to stage successfully
- Students will begin to learn the power of performance work in giving voice to people who might otherwise remain unheard, and the power of theatre as an educational tool.
- Students will learn to identify, define and evaluate the skills used in their own character creation, to evaluate the strengths in the performances of others and to identify areas for improvement in both.
Key Stage 4
Students will follow the Pearson Edexcel Drama GCSE Course
Component 1: Devising (40% of the final mark)
What's assessed?
- Creation, development and performance of a devised piece of theatre (small group work)
- Written portfolio analysing and evaluating the devising process and performance
Assessment Method: Internal (teacher) assessment, external (exam board) moderation.
Component 2: Performance from Text (20% of the final mark)
What’s assessed?
- Two pieces of scripted performance taken from an extract of the same script. The performances can be monologues, duologues or group scenes, or any combination of the three.
Assessment Method: Performances assessed by an external examiner
(NB Students can be assessed as either actors, or designers for Component 1 and/or Component 2)
Component 3: Theatre Makers in Practice (40% of the final mark)
What’s assessed?
Section A: Bringing Texts to Life (45 marks)
- Knowledge and understanding of a set text, from the perspective of an actor, a designer, and a director
Section B: Live Theatre Evaluation (15 marks)
- Analysis and Evaluation of a live theatre performance seen during the course.
Assessment Method: Written Examination, lasting 1hr 45 minutes.
Key Stage 5
Students will follow the Pearson Edexcel Drama & Theatre A Level Course
Component 1: Devising (40% of the final mark)
What’s assessed?
- Creation, development and performance of an original devised performance piece, using one key extract from a performance text and a theatre practitioner as stimuli.
- Written portfolio analysing and evaluating the process of devising and refining, and performance.
Assessment Method: Internal (teacher) assessment, external (exam board) moderation.
Component 2: Performance from Text (20% of the final mark)
What’s assessed?
- A group performance/design realisation of one key extract from a performance text.
- A monologue or duologue performance/design realisation from one key extract from a different performance text.
Assessment Method: Performances assessed by an external examiner
(NB Students can be assessed as either actors, or designers for Component 1 and/or Component 2)
Component 3: Theatre Makers in Practice (40% of the final mark)
What’s assessed?
Section A: Live Theatre Evaluation (20 marks)
- Students answer one extended response question from a choice of two requiring them to analyse and evaluate a live theatre performance they have seen
Section B: Page to Stage: Realising a Performance Text (36 marks)
- Students answer two extended response questions based on an unseen extract from a set text they have studied. Answering from the perspective of a performer and a designer, students will demonstrate how they, as theatre makers, intend to realise the extract in performance.
Section C: Interpreting a Performance Text (24 marks)
- Students will answer one extended response question from a choice of two based on an unseen section from their chosen performance text, demonstrating how their re-imagined production concept will communicate ideas to a contemporary audience.
- Students will also need to outline how the work of their chosen theatre practitioner has influenced their overall production concept and demonstrate an awareness of the performance text in its original performance conditions.
Assessment Method: Written Examination, lasting 2hrs 30 minutes.