Drama

What is the Department like?

We are a quickly growing department, consisting of four teachers. Drama lessons are delivered in dedicated practical spaces, including a purpose-built drama studio with full lighting and sound facilities.  We aim to deliver a curriculum that is both practical and academically challenging. At the same time, Drama is a rare opportunity for students to develop emotional and social awareness and we aim to encourage a supportive environment for self-expression and self-reflection.

We teach Key Stage 3, GCSE and A Level, as well as offering a wealth of extra-curricular opportunities for students from all year groups.

What are Drama’s cross-curricular links, and why are they important?

Drama aims to instil students with an appreciation of how various aspects of the curriculum link together through a series of carefully forged links with other departments in the school. This is important because children go to school in order to learn the skills needed for life, and none of their subjects exists purely on its own; they all link together in the outside world. Therefore, it’s important that they should do at school.

English

All students in years 8 and 9 do a half term Drama project with their English teacher. As speaking and listening is such an important part of the English curriculum at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 we aim to teach students the skills needed for:

• delivering speech to an audience
• performing with energy to create mood and atmosphere for an audience
• developing and sustaining a character
• working creatively and collaboratively as part of a group
• developing and evaluating practical work
• Reflecting on and evaluating the success of their own performances

Citizenship

Anti-bullying and social responsibility are topics explored in both subjects. Through peer-training, we aim to help students develop:

• A sense of social responsibility
• A sense of self-worth
• The understanding that they are not too young to make a difference
• The understanding that their care as much as them

What is Drama like at Key Stage 3?

Drama is an expanding subject at Key Stage 3, and it is taught in different ways depending on the year group.

Year	Half-term 1	Half-term 2	Half-term 3	Half-term 4	Half-term 5	Half-term 6
7 (1 lesson every fortnight)	Settling into secondary school: Games and teamwork	Monologues and montages: Considering your audience	Devising drama from a picture stimulus: Creating atmosphere	Evacuation: Creating and sustaining a complex character	Bullying and social responsibility: Whole class in role project	Melodrama: Performing a script
8 (1 half-term unit of work in English lessons)					Shakespeare and theatrical styles from around the world.
9 (1 half-term unit of work in English lessons)					Performing with purpose: Showing empathy and developing a stimulus.

What is Drama like at GCSE?

Students can choose to take Drama as an option in Year 10.  There are five lessons per fortnight. During the course students explore two aspects of Drama, which are:

Creating Drama and Theatre

Responding to Drama and Theatre

The course is assessed through 60% practical and 40% theory.

Practical assessments are carried out in a controlled environment, where the teacher makes a judgement of the student’s grade based on evidence of students’:

commitment and contribution to the group during the rehearsal process over a number of weeks

contribution towards the group performance through use of vocal and physical techniques; sensitivity to the creation of mood and atmosphere; awareness of the audience

Students must submit their two best assessment marks to the exam board. As Year 10 is often taken up with developing and honing performance skills, the best assessment marks often come in Year 11.

Theoretical assessment is carried out in the examination, which can be sat either in the summer of Year 10 or that of Year 11. The exam assesses students’ theoretical response to Drama and Theatre through a compulsory question on:

 the development of a piece of theatre performed by students during the course

Alongside the options of answering on question on either

a piece of live performance seen during the course from the audiences’ perspective

or

performance suggestions for a set play studied during the course

Students can expect to study the curriculum as follows:

Year	Half-term 1	Half-term 2	Half-term 3	Half-term 4	Half-term 5	Half-term 6
10 (5 lessons per fortnight)	Introduction to GCSE Drama: practical skills	Practical development: Devised theatre based on a stimulus	Practical development: Scripted Theatre (Acting)	Practical development: Scripted Theatre (Acting)	Practical assessment: Devised theatre based on a stimulus	Practical assessment: Devised theatre based on a stimulus
11 (5 lessons per fortnight)	Practical assessment: TIE	Practical assessment: TIE	Final scripted acting / design-based practical assessment	Final scripted acting / design-based practical assessment	Revision of written examination techniques

During the course there are a range of opportunities for students to go on a number of theatre trips to venues such as:

The West Yorkshire Playhouse

The Alhambra

The Liverpool Everyman

The Lowry

Additionally students are encouraged to see as much live theatre as possible in their spare time, as this only enhances and enriches their performance potential.

Homework

GCSE Drama is requires dedication and commitment from those who choose it. Although students might not receive written homework as often as they do in other subjects, they are expected to stay after school to rehearse at least once per week in the month preceding assessments.

Further Study

As a subject, Drama is compatible with a number of other GCSEs such as Art, Textiles, Dance and English. It is also very successful at developing all kinds of students’ self-esteem and confidence. Drama GCSE students go on to do a wide range of things including studying Drama and Theatre Studies AS and A2 at TGS, or doing a more vocational Performing Arts course at College. They also can take completely subjects and keep their Drama interests alive by joining Amateur Dramatic Societies or simply by going to the theatre.