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About Consilium

Consilium Academies is a multi-academy Trust working across the North of England. It has nine academy schools located in Yorkshire, the North West, and the North East. Consilium is dedicated to enriching lives and inspiring ambitions for both students and colleagues.

Consilium Academies Trust

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Armthorpe Academy

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Ellesmere Park High School

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Heworth Grange School

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Moorside High School

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Washington Academy

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Performing Arts - Drama

‘Drama is life with the dull bits cut out’ Alfred Hitchcock


Every child deserves to achieve more than they think they are capable of, not just academically, but through creative expression. We strive to develop a love of theatre and live performance for pleasure, as well as education.


The intent of our curriculum is to enrich the cultural, emotional and artistic understanding of our students by exposing them to a diverse range of performance styles, plays, texts, practitioners and cultural theatrical traditions. We want students to engage with cultural, social, moral and historical contexts which they may never otherwise come face to face with.


Our aim is to equip students with the confidence and character to express themselves, with clarity, across range of situations, taking them out of their comfort zone. The subject, by nature, explores a wide breadth of cultural diversity and values within Britain and exposes the students to local, national and international issues which could impact the world of tomorrow. We enable students to develop a thirst and passion for all aspects of theatrical arts such as performance, design, directing, scriptwriting and backstage disciplines.


We seek to ensure that students experience a diverse drama curriculum to develop them socially, morally and academically, in preparation for their futures.


Our whole rationale is underpinned by a commitment to wider curriculum opportunities including visits to the local and national theatres and for students to take part in performance evenings and productions in school.

5-Year Drama Curriculum overview, please see attachment below.
For more information about our Drama curriculum, please contact the Head of Department at daniel.mcnamee@consilium-at.com

Year 7

Term Focus Student Outcomes
Autumn 1
Greek Theatre: Perseus and Medusa
 
Students will:
  • Understand the importance of Greek theatre, the significance it plays in general Greek Culture and how this long-lasting style of theatre, dating back from 700bc, has influenced theatre as we know it today.
  • Gain an introduction into key drama elements through the origin of Greek theatre.
  • Develop performance skills in a different genre including choral speaking and exaggerated movement.
  • Students will perform as a group live, in front of a small classroom audience.
Autumn 2
Macbeth, Witches, Halloween
 
Students will:
  • Explore the traditional tragedy by William Shakespeare, including Shakespearean language, accents and characterisation.
  • Understand the key techniques used in this style of tragic theatre and how techniques were adopted to create emotion, tension and menacing atmospheres.
  • Students will perform as a group live, in front of a small classroom audience.
Spring 1
RED
Students will:
  • Explore European Mythology and develop story telling in the style of fairy tales.
  • Understand how drama techniques can be applied to create stylistic effect, emotion and reflection.
  • Students will perform as a group live, in front of a small classroom audience.
Spring 2
Melodrama
Students will:
  • Explore the key features of melodrama and Silent movies.
  • Understand how silent movies changed the way we viewed theatre.
  • Students will bring to life a devised piece of drama through use of body language and facial expression.
  • Students will perform as a group live, in front of a small classroom audience.
Summer 1
The Terrible Fate of Humpty Dumpty
Students will:
  • Explore issue-based drama through looking at a play.
  • Understand how drama techniques like posture, gait and tone of voice can be developed to create a more realistic Character.
  • Students will learn an overview of the play ‘The terrible fate of Humpty Dumpty’ and then look specifically at 2 parts of the script in depth.
  • Students will develop their knowledge of character building by using hot seating.
  • Students will perform as a group live, in front of a small classroom audience.
Summer 2
Pandora's Box
Students will
  • Devise a short play based on their knowledge of Greek legends.
  • Develop their understanding of how to read a script and how to create a character (characterisation) to develop a scene.
  • Students will perform as a group live, in front of a small classroom audience.

 Students across the year will build knowledge and understanding of drama techniques and how to use them to show effect.
The year centres around developing students’ performance skills across different genres.
Students gain an understanding of how drama techniques can be applied to create emotion and reflection as well as gaining and practising their skills in devising and characterisation.

Year 8

Term Focus Student Outcomes
Autumn 1
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Students will:
  • Explore Musical Theatre and storytelling, including devising from text. Understand how drama techniques can be applied to create stylistic effect.
  • Apply and practise skills learnt from year 7.
  • Build knowledge, exploring books and the text of famous writers.
  • Develop understanding of drama techniques including how to use and apply them to a text to show dramatic effect.
  • Realise acting intentions and performance skills in a different genre.
  • Students will perform as group live in front of a small classroom audience.
Autumn 2
Dark Wood Manor - Halloween
Students will:
  • Learn how to devise from stimuli to develop story telling skills and create an original narrative.
  • Learn about genre of horror and how to develop dramatic tension within a devised performance
  • Learn how to create tension through drama devises.
  • Work on devising skills and characterisation.
  • Students will perform as group live in front of a small classroom audience.
Spring 1
Stones
Students will:
  • Gain further understanding of how to read a script and how to create a character (characterisation) to develop a scene.
  • Students will look at issue- based theatre looking at social issues like peer pressure and decision-making based on peer pressure
  • Understand how drama techniques like soundscape and proxemics can be applied to create stylistic effect.
  • Students will perform as duo live in front of a small classroom audience.
Spring 2
Bugsy Malone
Students will:
  • Learn about the historical culture of prohibition, gangsters and speakeasies.
  • Explore musical theatre and Script work.
  • Learn how to approach a script and be able to interpret writer’s intent.
  • Focus on cultural and contextual background information which could be incorporated when staging a scene including skills and characterisation.
  • Students will perform as group live in front of a small classroom audience.
Summer 1
The News
Students will:
  • Learn how to devise from a stimulus, developing key skills of problem-solving, role- play and hot seating through fictional stories.
  • Build knowledge and understanding of dramatic techniques and how to use them to show effect. This specifically relates to news and current events in the media.
  • Develop their devising skills and characterisation.
  • Students will perform as group live in front of a small classroom audience.
Summer 2
World War II
Students will:
  • Explore WW2, The horror of the Holocaust & Anne Frank’s diary. Interpret these through practical activities.
  • Continue to devise from a given stimulus.
  • Explore the historical, background information and context relating to WW2 to inform their performance and staging of their scene.
  • The purpose of this topic is to build knowledge and understanding of drama techniques and how to use them to show effect.
  • Students will perform as a group live, in front of a small classroom audience.

The purpose of the year 8 curriculum is to further build students’ knowledge and understanding of drama techniques including how to use them to show dramatic effect.
To develop students’ performance skills across different genres.
To understand how certain drama techniques can be applied to create stylistic effect, emotion and reflection. 

Year 9

Term Focus Student Outcomes
Autumn 1
Knife Crime
Students will:
  • Explore the effect of knife crime from the perspective of both Victim and potential attacker.
  • Create, monologues, and utilise method acting and characterisation.
  • Students will perform as a group live, in front of a small classroom audience.
Autumn 2
Z World
Students will:
  • Develop characterisation from different scripts based on the zombie apocalypse.
  • Students will develop devising skills based on stimulus including an outbreak.
  • Develop story telling skills and work on group scripted performances.
  • Students will perform as a group live, in front of a small classroom audience.
Spring 1
DNA
Students will:
  • Explore issue-based theatre looking at the effects of teen violence.
  • Students will learn an overview of the play ‘DNA’ and then look specifically at 2 parts of the script in depth.
  • Understand how certain drama techniques can be applied looking at character intentions to play a more believable character.
  • Students will perform as a group live, in front of a small classroom audience.
Spring 2
Bullying - MOCK DEVISING
Students will:
  • Learn how to devise from the theme of bullying.
  • Apply their skills developed throughout KS3 into practice by creating an original piece, using a given stimulus.
  • Students will look at creating a performance based on a given stimulus.
  • Students will perform as a group live, in front of a small classroom audience.
Summer 1
Working with Scripts – Musical Theatre
Students will:
  • Learn characterisation from different plays including We Will Rock You, Grease and Billy Elliott.
  • Learn how to approach scripts practically and theoretically.
  • Students will perform as a group live, in front of a small classroom audience.
Summer 2
Blood Brothers + Live Theatre Review
Students will:
  • Explore musical theatre.
  • Perform using a script. Students will watch the play, reproduce scenes themselves and evaluate their performances.
  • Exploration of live theatre and how to review it.
  • Students will perform as a group live, in front of a small classroom audience.
  • Students will develop analysis skills in drama.

 The purpose of the KS3 curriculum to build knowledge and understanding of drama techniques and how to use them to show effect, developing student performance skills in a different genre.
Students will work on devising skills and characterisation skills from a script.
Students will understand how different drama techniques can be applied to create emotion, reflection and stylistic effect.

Year 10

Term Focus Student Outcomes
Autumn 1
Skills Workshops
 Understanding the features of both production and performance.
Autumn 2
Component 2 - Using a Stimuli
 Exploring different styles of stimuli in order to create drama.
Spring 1
Component 2 – Devising Rehearsals
 Introduction to component 1 and the rehearsal process.
Spring 2
Devising Technical and Performance

Component 1 – Written Examination Preparation
 Peer assessed devised piece ready for a live performance.
Identify roles and responsibilities of the theatre and stage configurations.
Summer 1
Component 2 – Portfolio
 Coursework completing a 2000 word portfolio.
Summer 2
Component 2 Devising Technical and Final Performance

Component 3 - Preparation
 Component 2 – devising final performance – Moderated.
Introduction and exploration into component 3 in preparation for year 11.

Year 11

Term Focus Student Outcomes
Autumn 1
Skills Workshops – DNA / BLOODBORTHERS / TBD Revision
 Recapping the features of both productions and performance. Component 3 preparation.
Autumn 2
Component 3 - Using Scripts, Genre, Form and Style – Scripted Rehearsals
 Workshops on practitioners, drama, styles, genre and form in preparation for selection of component 2 script.
Spring 1
Component 3 – Scripted Performance

Component 1 – Written Examination Preparation
 Assessed live performance of interpreted play script GCSE
Exploration of a chose play scripts and the rehearsal process.
Spring 2
Component 1 – Written Examination Preparation
 Explore roles and responsibilities of the theatre and stage configurations and recap blood brothers for written exam preparation.
Summer 1
Component 1 - Live Theatre Review
 Revision of a live theatre review ready for written exam. (Play to be considered)
National Curriculum – Drama


National curriculum drama is one of the 12 strands of learning in the literacy curriculum. It helps children think about the 'who, why, where, and when' elements of stories, events and everyday experiences. Drama helps children develop a creative perspective on life and gives them freedom of expression.
Drama is a statutory part of English in the National Curriculum for England (2013). The Spoken Language section now reads as follows:
All pupils should be enabled to participate in and gain knowledge, skills and understanding associated with the artistic practice of drama. Pupils should be able to adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role. They should have opportunities to improvise, devise and script drama for one another and a range of audiences, as well as to rehearse, refine, share and respond thoughtfully to drama and theatre performances.


Drama Curriculum.

  • Role-play and other drama techniques can help pupils to identify with and explore characters. In these ways, they extend their understanding of what they read and have opportunities to try out the language they have listened to.
  • Drama and role-play can contribute to the quality of pupils’ writing by providing opportunities for pupils to develop and order their ideas through playing roles and improvising scenes in various settings.
  • Reading, re-reading, and rehearsing poems and plays for presentation and performance give pupils opportunities to discuss language, including vocabulary, extending their interest in the meaning and origin of words. Pupils should be encouraged to use drama approaches to understand how to perform plays and poems to support their understanding of the meaning. These activities also provide them with an incentive to find out what expression is required, so feeding into comprehension.
  • In national curriculum drama lessons children learn to:
  • use dramatic techniques, including working in role to explore ideas and texts
  • create, share and evaluate ideas through drama

Opportunities to learn drama techniques will also be presented to pupils in other strands in the literacy curriculum. In ‘Speaking and Listening’, for example, children are expected to learn to ‘speak competently and creatively for different purposes and audiences', which can be tried out in the lines spoken by different characters in a play.
Alongside the literacy aspect, drama helps develop a child's confidence, self-esteem and communication skills across the national curriculum. Classes provide a safe environment in which children can express themselves using improvising and spontaneity exercises. 

  1. Performing Arts Drama-Curriculum Overview
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