Curriculum Intent - Drama:

Our drama curriculum is a map and the routes through it are the individual journeys the students find and explore. It teaches the individual to bring something of themselves to each challenge, to build a love of performance in its widest sense and to imagine and create at every opportunity. As the Arts Council England state in ‘Drama: a guide for governing boards’, “Schools remain the single most important place where students can access great cultural experiences” and this is a responsibility that is constantly shaping our curriculum.

The drama curriculum begins by acknowledging extremely varied starting points for our students. It aims to support them in finding the route on the map that will develop their confidence, self-awareness and respect. It provides a structure for embedding key concepts along the way, experimenting with dramatic technique and style, working to turn their creativity into a reality in performance and realising the process of attaining excellence.

A clear focus on our concepts: ‘Make, Perform, Respond, Audience, Style, Confidence’ drives every aspect of the curriculum from years 7 – 13. These concepts are also evident in every lesson to allow students to create with purpose and awareness of dramatic intention. Developing well-organised and scaffolded learning opportunities within each lesson motivates positive behaviours for learning and relationships within each class – subsequently providing a safe, respectful environment where students can explore new ways to present new ideas.

The curriculum is designed to build the skills necessary for success at A level and beyond. It aims to support students as professionals in training through a spiral that consolidates and introduces physical and vocal skills' development as well as exploration of text and live performance.

WATCH

Through watching professional / teacher led examples of performance styles, students will develop skills in analysis as well as finding inspiration for their own work.

MAKE

Students will experiment with techniques and styles, working as part of a directing and acting team to create performances from scratch and from scripts. Through rehearsals, students will build confidence in their abilities which filters into ‘performance ready confidence’.

PERFORM

Students will learn to perform in a range of styles, using techniques that are appropriate to their dramatic intentions.

RESPOND

Students will learn to comment positively on performance work – looking for success in the detail and learning to use subject specific vocabulary to add depth and purpose to their comments.