Drama – Wickersley School and Sports College

Subjects

Drama

The Subject Way

Our subject has a ‘Subject Way’ at the heart of it. Our Subject Way is designed to help students become young subject specialists. The Subject Way has two main purposes:

Firstly, to teach students the vital skills they need to achieve their full potential and gain the very best grades they can. Secondly, to teach students how each subject relates to the wider world, incorporating the life skills they will learn.

It is our belief that knowing how what you learn links to the wider world brings a subject to life and therefore improves overall understanding and engagement.

Curriculum Intent

At Wickersley Partnership Trust we aim to ensure our Drama curriculum is designed to sequence learning and embed the key skills and knowledge that are required for our students to become confident, creative and insightful. Students are encouraged to be not only independent but also collaborative and cooperative learners. We teach a wide range of acting and technical design skills that fosters an enthusiastic appreciation of the theatrical form and a sense of enjoyment and fascination for stories and characters, their messages and themes. Through Drama, our students explore a range of social issues and cultural influences. The opportunities that we offer beyond the drama studio aim to provide unforgettable experiences and a vital contribution to school life.

How we intend to remove barriers

In Drama and Performing Arts we enable and empower our students to access the curriculum through developing their skills in literacy, numeracy, oracy and through mastering a wide vocabulary.

Literacy

Our Drama curriculum provides a wide range of literacy opportunities. Students read, explore and perform plays from a variety of periods, cultures and playwrights. To assist in the creation of devised drama, they read extracts from novels, poetry, media articles and a range of non-fiction texts. Writing skills are developed through the collaborative writing of original scripts and through the independent critical analysis of performance texts. Literacy in Drama extends beyond the written word; the subject also encourages students to become literate semiotic readers of signs, symbols and any other imagery that is used to create meaning.

Numeracy

In Drama, students develop their numeracy ability when they create and represent data in numerical and spatial forms. Students may be required to apply numeracy skills such as calculation, estimation and measuring when exploring production and technical aspects of theatre. Calculating production budget costs, estimating stage plan dimensions and recording costume measurements are some ways in which numeracy skills can be developed in a practical context. Research for the development of devised drama may also give students the opportunity to handle, analyse and interpret data.

Oracy

Exceptionally rare is the Drama lesson that doesn’t provide a range of opportunities for students to develop their oracy skills. Speaking – and listening – are an intrinsic part of our curriculum where reading aloud, discussing ideas, presenting material, role play, improvisation, pair work, group work and dramatic performance are central key learning activities. Students are enabled to become confident and articulate orators through their work in Drama where prominence and focus is given to specific speaking skills such Received Pronunciation, accent, dialect, pitch, tone, pause, intonation, volume, pause, register and rhetoric. Consideration is also giving to the preparation and healthy maintenance of the speaker’s voice.

Vocabulary

In Drama lessons we enable and expect our students to employ a wide and rich breadth of vocabulary in both written work and the spoken word. We embed the technical terminology of drama and theatre throughout all key stages and consistently promote an awareness of the potential and power of effective language use. Students are exposed to a diverse vocabulary range through their reading of plays and other texts from a variety of different periods, cultures and social contexts.

How we develop skills for learning

Students are given opportunities to learn, develop and refine their skills in every lesson and beyond. We aim to present our students with exciting and relevant stimulus material which inspires them to be creative, considered and reflective in their personal responses. Learning is sequenced to facilitate the building of a skillset that includes both practical and academic approaches to the subject.

How we foster personal attributes

Purposeful, positive relationships are vital to the success of students in Drama. Pair work, group work, class discussion, rehearsal and the presentation of work to an audience are all core ways in which we work. Self-expression, honesty and openness are encouraged at all stages. Creativity, originality and generosity are qualities that are essential in Drama and the importance of a collaborative approach to the work is an imperative. Students are expected to share and cooperate, but the subject provides countless opportunities for leadership and for students to realise their own personal vision. Resilience and resourcefulness are also key qualities that we aim to instil in our students.

How we intend to enrich student experiences and broaden the horizons of students

Students are actively encouraged to take as deep an interest as possible in our subject. They are required to engage with challenging and stimulating play texts and to thoroughly and creatively explore numerous social, historical and cultural issues. We aim for students to experience live theatre performances regularly and for students to gain an understanding of relevant vocational and career pathways through visits to workplaces and through dialogue with theatre industry professionals. Theatre tours and actor workshops are other ways in which students have widened their experience and knowledge of theatre. Extra-curricular performance opportunities should allow students to hone their craft in quality productions, with high production values and to a wide audience.

Curriculum

YEAR 7
8 Weeks	8 Weeks	8 Weeks	8 Weeks	8 Weeks
Introduction to drama: War poetry Students learn the basics of drama, and work through a multi-technique scheme of work. The focus will be based on the theme of power in war poetry.	Thematic Study: The Boy at the Top of the Mountain Students will learn how to respond to the theme of power in a text. Students will learn to use tone, mood silence and stillness to create impact.	Devising Drama: My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece Students develop their ability to respond to stimulus in a creative way. Students will explore the theme of relationships, and how they are presented creatively in drama using alternative stagings.	Devising Drama: My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece Students learn how to devise key scenes from the narrative, and create their own imaginative scripts. Students will improvise, rehearse and perform them.	Responding to Script: Noughts and Crosses Students will explore the play Noughts and Crosses. They will explore the key themes of identity, discrimination and injustice. Students will explore contemporary issues and moral choices through practical drama.
YEAR 8
8 Weeks	8 Weeks	8 Weeks	8 Weeks	8 Weeks
Responding to a script: Noughts and Crosses Students will explore key scenes from the play, and explore how the characters develop and progress. Students will improvise, rehearse and perform them.	Devising Drama: Animal Farm Students will devise their own creative pieces of drama. Students will also write their monologues, develop their rhetoric devices and work on their presentation skills to an audience.	Thematic Study: Animal Farm Students will explore the presentation of themes in the script adaptation of the novel. Students will then confidently rehearse and perform them, exploring tone, mood silence and stillness to create impact.	Responding to Script: Romeo and Juliet Students develop their understanding of themes and issues in a drama text. They learn how to stage drama texts in creative ways and gain an awareness of production design elements.	Devising Drama: Romeo and Juliet Students will devise their own key scenes from the play, and explore the theme of power. Students will develop a key understanding of Shakespeare’s methods, characters intentions and their development within the play.

YEAR 9 Drama (Taught in the Creative Studies Suite)

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Unit 4

Responding to Script: Bang Out of Order!

Students study and explore the play which tackles anti-social behaviour using a mixture of comedy, movement, music and multi-media.

Performance Skills and Devising: Combat and Conflict

Students learn how to effectively create tension and conflict in drama scenes. They learn a range of stage combat moves to equip them with a range of physical techniques for use in their devised practical work.

Responding to Script and Devising Drama: DNA

Students develop their understanding of plot, structure and character and one technical design element. They stage scripted extracts and devise their own practical work.

Responding to Script: The Tempest

Students study and explore extracts from Shakespeare’s play from practical and technical design angles, deepening their understanding of Shakespeare’s language and a range of theatrical forms.

YEAR 10: GCSE Drama

Half Term 1

Half Term 2

Half Term 3

Half Term 4

Half Term 5

Half Term 6

Component 1: Devising Theatre (40%)

Students are introduced to the methods and practices of John Godber, theatre practitioner and playwright. Students research Godber’s plays and capture his style in their own work.

Component 1: Devising Theatre (40%)

Students learn how to respond to stimulus in order to create original devised drama scenes.

Component 1: Devising Theatre (40%)

Students utilise established methods and practices of devising to create a substantial piece of drama from a choice of stimuli provided by the exam board. They work collaboratively to produce a piece of theatre for practical assessment..

Component 1: Devising Theatre (40%)

Students complete a portfolio of evidence and a written evaluation which is formally assessed as the final part of Component 1.

Component 3: Interpreting Theatre (40%)

Students are introduced to the exam set text, I Love You Mum, I Promise I Won’t Die by Mark Wheeler, which they read and explore from a practical angle.

YEAR 11: GCSE DRAMA

Half Term 1

Half Term 2

Half Term 3

Half Term 4

Half Term 5

Component 3: Interpreting Theatre (40%)

Students continue to explore the exam set text, DNA by Dennis Kelly. They explore a variety of rehearsal techniques for actors performing the play, give consideration to design issues such as set, costume, lighting, hair and make-up and they learn about the social issues involved in the play. Students complete revision notes and work on a number of practice exam questions.

Component 3: Interpreting Theatre (40%)

Students continue to explore the exam set text, DNA by Dennis Kelly. They explore a variety of rehearsal techniques for actors performing the play, give consideration to design issues such as set, costume, lighting, hair and make-up and they learn about the social issues involved in the play. Students complete revision notes and work on a number of practice exam questions.

Component 2: Performing from a Text (20%)

Students study and rehearse two key extracts from a published pre-2000 playscript for formal external assessment.

Component 2: Performing from a Text (20%)

Students rehearse and perform two key extracts from a published pre-2000 playscript for formal external assessment.

Component 3: Interpreting Theatre (40%)

Students continue to explore the exam set text, DNA. They explore a variety of rehearsal techniques for actors performing the play, give consideration to design issues such as set, costume, lighting, hair and make-up and they learn about the social issues involved in the play. Students complete revision notes and work on a number of practice exam questions.

YEAR 11: BTEC Acting

Half Term 1

Half Term 2

Half Term 3

Half Term 4

Half Term 5