The primary intent of our Key Stage 3 Drama curriculum is to provide students with opportunities to explore and express themselves creatively through acting, devising, improvisation, storytelling, and other theatrical techniques. Our curriculum provides students with an outlet for creative expression and encourages students to use their voices, bodies, and emotions to communicate ideas, emotions, and narratives effectively.
Stepping into the shoes of others through dramatic role play and character exploration, encourages students to explore the different perspectives and understand the thoughts, feelings and motivations of others, thus developing empathy and emotional intelligence.
In all years, students typically study devising and script work through a combination of practical activities, group performances and theoretical learning.
The study of dramatic texts and scripts enhances students’ literacy skills, including reading comprehension, interpretation, and analysis. Engaging with these dramatic texts also encourages critical thinking and reflection. When devising, students are encouraged to think creatively allowing their imaginations to freely develop original ideas, characters and narratives.
PROUD Values
In the captivating world of Drama, we teach Professionalism to shine through every performance, as our students embrace the stage with dedication, confidence and commitment.
With Resilience as their cornerstone, we teach our students to rise to any challenge, transforming their set backs into opportunities for growth and mastery.
Optimism infuses every lesson as we teach students to approach rehearsal and performance with a positive attitude, showing excitement and possibility for what they can accomplish.
In the heart of our Drama curriculum lies the deep Understanding of human emotion and experience, we use this to foster empathy, connection and unity among students.
Driven by the true value of the Arts, we teach our drama students to exhibit fierce determination to push their boundaries, strive for excellent and make their mark on the sage.
Proudly taking the spotlight, we teach our students to showcase not only their talents but to acknowledge and celebrate students achievements, building confidence and self-esteem.
We believe that each of our Drama lessons provides opportunities for language development as students practice speaking, listening, and articulating ideas with clarity and expression. Being exposed to a range of dramatic texts, genres, and theatrical traditions from different cultures and time periods, students learn to appreciate and respect the cultural diversity of human experiences and perspectives, fostering intercultural understanding and empathy.
Teaching staff and facilities
The subject of Drama is taught by our experienced Drama teacher Mr Gardiner and is held in our spacious drama studio with black walls and curtains with additional staging blocks. This professional set up creates a neutral, non-distracting background where the focus can remain on our performers, setting out a versatile canvas for creativity. The room also offers professional lighting which is essential for creating an immersive, visually stunning theatrical experiences, bringing performances to life.
Curriculum Intent
In Year 9, students will embark on an exhilarating exploration of physical theatre and technical design. Inspired by the acclaimed play ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,’ students delve into the dynamic world of physical storytelling, honing their movement skills and unleashing their creativity on stage. Through practical workshops, they will uncover the power of physical expression to convey emotion, narrative, and character. Students will also spend time studying the technical aspects of theatre production, learning the basics of lighting, costume design, set construction, and sound. With hands-on projects students bring their artistic visions to life, transforming the stage into a dazzling showcase of creativity and innovation.
Curriculum Map
Dance, Drama and Music lessons are taught on termly carousel. Students will spend one term in each discipline receiving a double lesson each week.
During the first half term, the focus will be on Physical Theatre and then Technical Theatre during the second half term.
| Yr9 Drama Rotation 1 | Our first topic is Physical Theatre (Script work) Students will explore the art of physical theatre, a form of theatre which emphasizes the use of physical movement, as in dance, gesture and mime for expression and storytelling. Students are introduced to a Physical theatre group called Frantic Assembly and study their innovative style of physical theatre. Students will also study the story and script from Curious incident of a dog in the night time and use physical theatre techniques to communicate a scene from the set text. |
| Physicality in theatre helps performers to understand the character they are portraying. In order to convincingly play a role, an actor must be able to physically embody that character. This means understanding how the character moves, talks, and interacts with their environment. This unit links to Component 1 at GCSE with Frantic Assembly being one of the Physical Theatre groups they can choose. | |
| Yr9 Drama Rotation 2 | Our second topic is Technical Theatre Students will explore the elements of technical theatre with a focus on the design aspect. Student will learn about costume design and the role of costume, set design and the impact of a set, sound design and how to select and set sound for different scenes and finally lighting design, looking at effects of lighting and how to plot lights for a set scene. Students will be given a play, asked to select a scene and then design 2 elements for assessment. |
| Stepping away from performing, this unit introduces students to the technical side of theatre as this is something they may now take for Components 1 and 2 at GCSE. Technical theatre is so important because the production could not exist without it. It tells the audience what the time period is, where the characters are, and what kind of scene they are in and creates the correct mood and atmosphere. It is necessary for a storyline and quality performance This gives students a grounding on the basics of Lights, Sound, Costume and set design ahead of potentially Year 10. |
Extra Curricular Opportunities
These include:
- Our Dungeons and Dragons club run by Mr Gardiner
- All students have the opportunity to audition for our school musical
- All students will have opportunities throughout the years to attend Theatre trips led by Mr Gardiner