The Drama department seeks to promote and develop Drama as an essential part of a child’s entitlement to a full and balanced curriculum. We do not promote Drama as solely a performing art. We promote Drama as a powerful tool in the examination of human interaction. It allows young people to enquire into the values which inform society and the forces which shape it. It gives students the opportunity to begin to formulate the values by which they wish to live.

Drama is a powerful way of knowing, which harnesses feelings, thinking and willing an enquiry into the social world. Drama provides a rich opportunity for language development since language is shaped by social role, relationship, context and intention. Drama uses the full range of human signing not merely words, but gestures, actions, spatial relationships, sound, silence and so on. It therefore plays to students’ strengths in reading human interaction.

The department aims…

• Develop an understanding of the importance of Drama as an art form in enabling humans to understand the world in which they live
• Develop imagination and the students’ ability to ask deep and meaningful questions throughout the creative process
• Develop the students’ skills in working collectively, having a sense of responsibility for their work and being accountable for their actions
• To allow students to develop informed opinions and to be able to support them by reasonable arguments free from prejudicial intolerance
• To participate in a variety of experiences/activities during a unit of work which provides opportunities for students to become actively involved in, such as; role play, listening, writing, discussing, responding, reflecting and evaluating

Key Stage Three Curriculum

Students receive one lesson of Drama a week.

The Drama department seeks to promote a varied and inclusive curriculum which inspires, engages and provokes thought throughout both KS3 and 4. By the end of KS3 the students have a firm grasp and understanding of the Drama Elements, Mediums, Forms of Stimuli and Explorative Strategies which consequently enables a seamless transition between key stage three and four.

Year 7

The emphasis on the first year is to foster enjoyment of and confidence in the subject so that by the end of the year students are able to use their imagination, suspend their disbelief and work automatically in a fictional manner.

What Schemes of Work does Year 7 do?

Playtext Knowledge and Understanding…

‘Rainbow’s Ending’ – Ridley

‘Romeo and Juliet’ – Shakespeare

Process Drama…

Deerhurst Manor

Theatre Style/Genre…

Melodrama

Development of Devising Skills…

The Car Crash

Year 8

Much of Year 8 is a consolidation and development at a deeper/richer level than that experienced in Year 7. The organisation of lessons and expectations is broadly the same however, the one crucial difference between Year 7 and 8 is the material used by the students in lessons, which is more challenging, requiring a high level of maturity.

What Schemes of Work does Year 8 do?

Playtext knowledge and Understanding…

(need to add texts here)

Process Drama…

The Evacuees

Theatre Style/Genre…

Commedia dell’Arte

Development of Devising Skills

The Identification

Year 9

In terms of learning objectives, as it is a spiral curriculum, the students will be returning to aims and objectives of Year 7 and 8 at a different level, but also they must develop a more explicit understanding of:

What Schemes of Work does Year 9 do?

Playtext Knowledge and Understanding…

‘Blood Brothers’ – Willy Russell

Process Drama…

The Magic Book

Theatre Style/Genre…

Physical Theatre

Development of Devising Skills…

Out of Control

We follow the Edexcel Specification for Drama, please see click on the link below for details. Photos to follow

Results

Historically the results in the Drama department have excellent, performing well above the national average.

	2012	2011	2010
% A*-C	93	81	96

Staff

Please contact us at any time if you have any queries: