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:
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Autumn 2 |
Macbeth, Witches, Halloween |
Students will:
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Spring 1 |
RED |
Students will:
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Spring 2 |
Melodrama |
Students will:
|
Summer 1 |
The Terrible Fate of Humpty Dumpty |
Students will:
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Summer 2 |
Pandora's Box |
Students will
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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:
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Autumn 2 |
Dark Wood Manor - Halloween |
Students will:
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Spring 1 |
Stones |
Students will:
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Spring 2 |
Bugsy Malone |
Students will:
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Summer 1 |
The News |
Students will:
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Summer 2 |
World War II |
Students will:
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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:
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Autumn 2 |
Z World |
Students will:
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Spring 1 |
DNA |
Students will:
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Spring 2 |
Bullying - MOCK DEVISING |
Students will:
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Summer 1 |
Working with Scripts – Musical Theatre |
Students will:
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Summer 2 |
Blood Brothers + Live Theatre Review |
Students will:
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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
|
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 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
|
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.