Drama

Drama

​Ash Manor School has a thriving Drama department that aims to challenge and stretch our students’ as performers as well as individuals. Drama is a powerful tool that helps students understand the world they live in whilst nurturing their self-confidence, creativity and communication skills. With the Ash Manor Core Values of Community, Excellence, Integrity, Respect and Resilience embedded within the teaching and learning of Performing Arts, and our students are given the opportunity to develop their own aspirations as performers through an engaging and varied curriculum.
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Drama Curriculum Overview

Key Stage 3 Curriculum information
At KS3 we aim to introduce students to a wide range of acting styles and genres, exploring both script and devising work that aims to stimulate, educate and inspire. Drama is compulsory at Ash Manor with students participating in 100 minutes of learning a fortnight, exploring topics such as Greek Theatre, Improvisation, Physical Theatre, Naturalism and Devising, as well as scripts from Shakespeare. Within each scheme of work, students are introduced to a full range of rehearsal and performance techniques such as characterisation, mime and stagecraft.

In Year 9, students can opt to specialise in Drama with 100 minutes of learning a week, where they begin to build the foundations for GCSE Drama. In this year, students start to develop acting and interpretive skills, examining influential Theatre Practitioners when exploring different acting styles and genres. Students explore a wide range of styles of theatre including Physical Theatre, Naturalism, Multi-media performance and Epic theatre through the study of devising from a variety of stimuli and plays.

Key Stage 4 Curriculum information
At KS4, Drama is a popular GCSE subject and our students currently follow the AQA Drama specification. Students have 300 minutes of learning per fortnight, as well as the opportunity to attend live theatre events in local theatres and the West End as part of their studies.

The GCSE Drama course focusses on developing students’ knowledge of different theatre practitioners through practical workshops, analysing live theatre and the rehearsal and performance of scripts. There is a balance between practical and written work.

Students are assessed/examined under the three following components:

Component 1: Interpreting Theatre
Non-exam assessment: internally assessed, externally moderated 40% of qualification

Learners will be assessed on either acting or design. Learners participate in the creation, development and performance of a piece of devised theatre using either the techniques of an influential theatre practitioner or a genre, in response to a stimulus set by Eduqas. Learners must produce a realisation of their piece of devised theatre a portfolio of supporting evidence an evaluation of the final performance or design.

Component 2: Devising Theatre
Non-exam assessment: externally assessed by a visiting examiner 20% of qualification

Learners will be assessed on either acting or design. Learners study two extracts from the same performance text chosen by the centre. Learners participate in one performance using sections of text from both extracts.

Component 3: Performing From a Text
Written examination: 1 hour 30 minutes 40% of qualification

Section A: Set Text A series of questions on one set text from a choice of five.

Section B: Live Theatre Review One question, from a choice of two, requiring analysis and evaluation of a given aspect of a live theatre production seen during the course.

Essential trips, visits and costs
There will at least one essential trip to see a Live Theatre Production in both Year 10 and Year 11. Year 10 pupils will also take part in a compulsory visiting Theatre Workshop, in preparation for the completion of Component One. Theatre trips and workshops outside of the above requirements, will be optional.

Skills and qualities - from studying drama and the performing arts

• Collaboration / Creativity / Problem-Solving / Co-operation / Communication / Confidence

• recording engineer
• community arts administrator
• music publishing assistant
• theatre technician
• exercise instructor
• play worker
• radio broadcast assistant