Drama has an important role to play in the personal development of our students. The skills and qualities developed by students in the subject, such as teamwork, creativity, leadership and risk-taking are assets in all subjects and all areas of life. Drama stimulates the imagination and allows students to explore issues and experiences in a safe and supportive environment.
It is vital to create an atmosphere of security, trust and concentration. Drama encourages the willingness to participate and co-operate in group work. It promotes self-esteem and provides all students with a sense of achievement regardless of academic ability.
It’s about social skills, communication skills and having fun – we learn by doing!
Key Stage 4
At GCSE, students study the OCR Drama specification. Students will work on improvisation skills, mask work and monologue as an introduction to GCSE Drama. The six ‘Areas of Study’ are introduced during the Spring term when students will cover the roles of performer, director, designer and deviser that form the basis of the OCR Drama GCSE.
Currently, students complete a programme of study and are then assessed on three units – Devising Drama (30%), Presenting and Performing Texts (30%) and Drama: Performance and Response – Written Exam (40%).
Drama topics to support transition can be found here – Drama-topics
Key Stage 3
At Key Stage 3, students are introduced to key subject terminology and performance skills, enabling them to confidently discuss and communicate their ideas with their peers throughout the units of work. With a programme of study focused mainly on devising, students are free to explore characterisation, staging and lighting to create unique and engaging drama, honing their vocal and physical performance skills across the years.
Year 7
- An Introduction to Drama including basic performance skills and techniques, tension and how to create atmosphere on stage.
- Physical Theatre
- Play text performance
Year 8
- The Mystery of Flannan Isle – devising based on a stimulus
- In the Dark Woods – devising based on horror genre conventions
- Murder Mystery – devising based on mystery genre conventions, creating tension and suspense
- Rap – a cross curricular unit, working with both the English and Music departments to explore music videos, write a rap based on societal or global issues, create a piece of complementary music, plan, rehearse and perform their own Rap Music Video
- Dracula – exploring extracts from a play text to create characters suited to dialogue, setting and staging
- Disasters – situational devising with a focus on characterisation and skills of rhetoric
Year 9
- Homelessness
- The Ghetto
- Jack the Ripper
These three units ask students to respond to sensational and sensitive material, exploring challenging and emotive historical events and societal issues with care and empathy, culminating in the creation of evocative dramatic pieces.
- Monologues – students narrow their focus to themselves, honing their ability to interrogate scripts (or other stimuli) for clues regarding character, setting and situation before rehearsing and performing a monologue. Students focus on creating a nuanced performance with specific focus on vocal and physical characterisation
- ‘Smashing the Canon’ – a new unit for Sept 2020 onwards that has cross curricular links with the English Department. Students will be asked to explore and challenge the literary canon, devising performances that raise awareness of minority voices
- Play Text / Showcase – students can choose to devise a new piece of drama or present one they have already performed earlier in the year, using feedback to hone the performance, in order to celebrate their KS3 Drama journey