Drama and Theatre

Yr7 & Yr8

Drama in Yr7 & Yr8 is “serious fun” and performance based. Students will develop a range of performance and devising skills. They will also be introduced to a selection of the most influential theatre practitioners. Along the way students will develop their communication skills, learn about leadership and teamwork and challenge themselves creatively.

Subject Content

Yr7 students spend the first half term following an introduction to Drama course called Serious Fun in which they will focus on building their confidence for live performance and their analytical and evaluation skills. The following half terms focuses on Ancient Greek Theatre and the very beginnings of theatre as we know it today. For the remainder of Yr7, students will explore the skills and characters of Commedia Dell’Arte and then the classic Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet and how this play relates to contemporary society.

Year 8 sees students applying their skills, knowledge and understanding to more complex theatre and acting styles. The Yr8 schemes of work are designed to give students the skills they need to be successful if they opt for Drama at GCSE and to develop key employability skills such as teamwork, leadership and communication. These schemes of work include Melodrama, Naturalism & Stanislavski and Bertolt Brecht’s Epic Theatre.

 

In Year 7 and Year 8 students undertake a teacher and peer assessed performance every half term.

Yr9, Yr10 & Yr11 ArtsAward & GCSE Drama

 

Exam Board and Subject Content

Yr9 – Arts Award Bronze (completed in the first term of Yr9)

 

All year 9 students follow the Arts Award Bronze. Arts Award Bronze is a Level One National qualification that will give your son the opportunity to use and be assessed in the key Drama skills they are learning

The Arts Award qualification has five key aims:

1. Participation – Arts Award encourages young people to develop an interest in and participation in arts, media and cultural activities

2. Talent – Arts Award supports young people’s creative development and nurture talent

3. Stretch & New Experiences – Arts Award compliments and extends the arts and cultural experiences young people have with formal education

4. Teamwork & Leadership – Arts Award provides opportunities for collaborative work and leadership which promotes young people’s personal development

5. Research & Pathways – Arts Award provides opportunities for young people to research and identify progression routes in the arts and cultural sectors.

Students will complete four units:

Part A – Explore the Arts as a Participant

To complete Part A, students will show how they have developed an interest in and knowledge and skills of ONE of the below by taking part in the Yr9 Performances. They will need to be one of the following for the performances:

PERFORMER – perform for an audience as a character in one of the performances

DESIGNER – Costume Design or Lighting Design or Set Design or Sound Design for one of the performances

DIRECTOR – Direct one of the performances

 

To achieve Part A, in their portfolio, students will need to have a record of evidence as follows:

1. A detailed description of their activity that shows the journey
2. Information about how they developed their participation and enjoyment of the activity e.g. annotated rehearsal pictures, comments, feedback
3. A summary and evaluation of what they learnt and how they improved their skills.

 

Part B – Explore the Arts as an Audience Member

To complete Part B, students will go to the theatre to see a performance. They will have to reflect on why you enjoyed it, the quality of the performance and what it was like to be an audience member. They will then have to share their views with others and have evidence of this.

To achieve Part B, in their portfolio, they will need to have a record of evidence as follows:

1. Evidence of attending the theatre performance e.g. programme, tickets etc.
2. Evidence of personal reflection on the performance and its creative impact e.g. written analysis and evaluation of the Performer’s, Designer’s and Director’s work
3. Evidence of communicating their personal reflection on the performance e.g. peer discussion sheets

Part C – Arts Inspiration

To complete Part C, students will use research methods to find out about a Performer, Designer or Director (theatre, film or television) that they admire.

To achieve Part C, in their portfolio, they will need to have a record of evidence as follows:

1. Evidence of their research e.g. notes, photographs, film clips bibliography a final presentation document (ideally PowerPoint but other formats are acceptable)
2. A summary in any format that others can understand, of what they have found out, why the person was chosen and what they learnt about their life and work.
3. It is essential that they communicate how their chosen person INSPIRES them!

 

PART C IS COMPLETED AS AN ONGOING PIECE OF HOMEWORK. STUDENTS WILL BE GIVEN DEADLINES FOR SECTIONS TO BE HANDED IN AND A FINAL DEADLINE FOR IT TO BE COMPLETED.

 

Part D – Arts Skills Share

To complete Part D students will pass on their arts skills to others by leading a short workshop or demonstration, which includes an explanation of their skills.

To achieve Part D, students will pass on their arts skills to others by leading a workshop or demonstration to the Yr7 Drama club students.

To achieve Part D, in their portfolio, they will need to have a record of evidence as follows:

1. An explanation of their chosen activity and why they chose it, evidence of research into the activity and plans they have made (planning sheets to be provided)
2. Evidence of the activity and how they passed on the skills (recording of workshop)
3. An analysis and evaluation of how it all went!

   Further information can be found at www.artsaward.org.uk

   Pearson/Edexcel GCSE Drama

   Students begin to study the GCSE course in the second term of Yr9 and use the skills gained during Arts Award to step up to the high expectations of the GCSE Drama course.  Students are expected to dedicate themselves to the course, the course demands and the expectations of the Drama Department. This involves regular rehearsals at lunchtimes, after school and weekends. The required commitment and rehearsal time supports the academic and performance based expectations of the GCSE.

   Component 1: Devising

   Coursework

   40% of the qualification – 60 marks

   Content overview

   ● Create and develop a devised piece from a stimulus

   ● Performance of this devised piece or design realisation for this performance.

   ● Analyse and evaluate the devising process and performance

   ● Performer or designer routes available.

   Assessment overview

   ● There are two parts to the assessment:

   1) a portfolio covering the creating and developing process and analysis and evaluation of this process (45 marks)

   2) a devised performance/design realisation (15 marks)

   Component 2: Performance from Text 

   Coursework

   20% of the qualification – 48 marks

   Content overview

   ● Students will either perform in and/or design for two key extracts from a performance text.

   ● Performer or designer routes available.

   Assessment overview

   ● Externally assessed by visiting examiner.

   ● Performance/design realisation covering both key extracts is worth 48 marks.

   Component 3: Theatre Makers in Practice

   Written examination: 1 hour 30 minutes

   40% of the qualification – 60 marks

   Content overview

   ● Practical exploration and study of one complete performance text

   ● Live theatre evaluation

   Assessment overview

   Section A: Bringing Texts to Life

   ● 45 marks

   ● This section consists of one question broken into six parts (short and extended responses) based on one extract from the chosen performance text.

   ● Performance texts are not allowed in the examination as the extracts will be provided.

   Section B: Live Theatre Evaluation

   ● 15 marks

   ● This section consists of two questions requiring students to analyse and evaluate a live theatre performance they have seen.

   ● Students are allowed to bring in theatre evaluation notes of up to a maximum of 500 words.

To view A-Level course content, please click here.