Drama

Key Stage 3

What are the knowledge and skills that students will gain over Key Stage 3?

Key Stage 3 Drama encourages students to develop their skills in the following areas:

• information-processing skills, eg sequencing and comparing
• reasoning skills, eg drawing inferences and making deductions
• enquiry skills, eg asking relevant questions and testing conclusions
• creative thinking skills, eg generating and extending ideas, applying imagination and looking for alternative endings
• evaluation skills, eg judging the value of their own and others’ work
• communication, negotiation, compromise and self-assertion
• personal maturity and emotional literacy.

Why is it delivered in this way?

In Year 7, students are introduced to the basic skills and techniques in Drama, including scripts, freeze frames, mime and performing characters, before going on to apply these skills to their performances through the year. These skills are developed through the year looking at different styles and purposes of performances.

During Year 8 different genres are studied including Crime Drama, Comedy and naturalistic theatre.The year starts with a unit on Shakespeare and his use of theatre conventions. Students experiment with context and reinvent the scenes to make them relevant for an audience today. Students also work more with scripts, developing and creating characters and exploring different genres, thereby building on the work they have done in Year 7.

Links are made to the GCSE Drama syllabus through devising from a stimulus and the learning of lines, preparing the students who are planning on choosing Drama as an option for the next stage. Throughout Key Stage 3 students are assessed on the same criteria as appears in the GCSE, giving them confidence in these areas and preparing them for GCSE assessments.

Key Stage 4

Year 11 2020-21

Course Title: OCR GCSE Drama J316

What are the knowledge and skills that students will gain over Key Stage 4?

OCR’s GCSE in Drama will encourage learners to:
• apply knowledge and understanding of drama when making, performing and responding to drama
• explore performance texts, understanding their social, cultural and historical context including the theatrical conventions of the period in which they were created.
develop a range of theatrical skills, styles and techniques and apply them to create performances
• work collaboratively to generate, develop and communicate ideas
• develop as creative, effective, independent and reflective students able to make informed choices in process and performance
• contribute as an individual to a theatrical performance
• reflect on and evaluate their own work and that of others
• develop an awareness and understanding of the roles and processes undertaken in contemporary professional theatre practice
• adopt safe working practices.

Why is it delivered in this way?

The GCSE course starts with giving the students the fundamental knowledge they will need to inform their study of the subject through the following 3 years. This includes the study of theatre practitioners and companies and their conventions.

From this, in Year 10 the students then focus on three of the key parts of their final GCSE - the written and practical exams, the devised performance and portfolio. The portfolio is done in Year 10 to give students the time they need to produce work of a standard which reflects the fact that this is worth 20% of their final GCSE. Getting this completed in Year 10 then allows the students to focus on the exams in Year 11.

In Year 11, the skills developed through the past 2 years are then focused towards the exams, with equal time spent on written and practical work throughout the year. Students complete their Presenting and Performing a text module around February in order to give them a concentrated period of time to prepare for the written exam.

Years 9-10 2020-21

Course Title: Eduqas GCSE Drama

What are the knowledge and skills that students will gain over Key Stage 4?
GCSE Drama will encourage learners to:

• respond to stimuli and scripts to create imaginative performance
• apply knowledge and understanding of drama when making, performing and responding to drama
• explore performance texts, understanding their social, cultural and historical context including the theatrical conventions of the period in which they were created
• develop a range of theatrical skills, styles and techniques and apply them to create performances
• work collaboratively to generate, develop and communicate ideas
• develop as creative, effective, independent and reflective students able to make informed choices in process and performance
• contribute as an individual to a theatrical development and performance
• reflect on and evaluate their own work and that of others
• develop an awareness and understanding of the roles and processes undertaken in contemporary professional theatre practice
• develop rehearsal and performance practice and time management to contribute to the rehearsal process.
• adopt safe working practices.

Why is it delivered in this way?
The GCSE course starts with giving the students the fundamental knowledge they will need to inform their study of the subject through the following 3 years. This includes the study of theatre practitioners and companies and their conventions.

Year 9 will start the year with a unit on History of Theatre including different theatre styles from different periods through time. This builds on a unit from Year 8 where theatre styles are introduced. They will then study a script and address questions in their assessment for this unit similar to the written exam at the end of the GCSE course. At the end of Year 9 students complete an extended devising task which is similar to that of Component 1 which will be completed in Year 10.

In Year 10 the students then focus on the first component of their final GCSE - the devised performance and portfolio. For this performance students respond to a stimulus and demonstrate clear understanding of their chosen performance style.The portfolio explains their creative process, it is completed in Year 10 and is worth 20% of their final GCSE. To complete this unit students also reflect on and evaluate the final performance. Getting this completed in Year 10 then allows the students to focus on the exams in Year 11.

In Year 11, the skills developed through the past 2 years are then focused towards the exams. Students prepare and perform an extract from a script, demonstrating characterisation and understanding of context. This is marked by a visiting examiner. The final unit for the GCSE is the written exam which will include analysis of a performance text where students will need to show understanding of rehearsing and performing and a theatre review.