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

Component 1: Understanding drama

This component is a written exam in which students are assessed on their knowledge and understanding of how drama and theatre is developed and performed (AO3), including in connection to a set play and on their ability to analyse and evaluate the live theatre work of others (AO4).

The paper constitutes 40% of the GCSE.

Students have 1 hour and 45 minutes to answer the paper.

The paper is divided into three compulsory sections:

• Section A: Theatre roles and terminology
• Section B: Study of set text
• Section C: Live theatre production.

 Component 2: Devising drama

This is a practical component in which students are assessed on their ability to create and develop ideas to communicate meaning for theatrical performance (AO1), apply theatrical skills to realise artistic intentions in live performance (AO2) and analyse and evaluate their own work (AO4).

Component 2 constitutes 40% of the GCSE.

It is marked by teachers and moderated by AQA.

For this component students are required to complete the following two assessment tasks:

• produce an individual Devising log documenting the devising process
• contribute to a final devised duologue or group performance.

The Devising log is marked out of 60.

Each student's contribution to the final devised performance is marked out of 20.

Component 3: Texts in practice

This component is a practical component in which students are assessed on their ability to apply theatrical skills to realise artistic intentions in live performance (AO2).

Component 3 constitutes 20% of the GCSE.

It is marked by AQA.

For this component students must complete two assessment tasks:

• study and present a key extract (monologue, duologue or group performance)
• study and present a second key extract (monologue, duologue or group performance) from the same play.

Each student's contribution to each key extract performance is marked out of 20.

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