DRAMA

Department members:
Miss Sara Coyle (Head of Department)

Levels taught in the department:
Key Stage 3
GCSE
AS and A2 Level

Introduction
Drama is taught to all students from Years 7-9 once a fortnight. The course is designed to promote confidence and enhance social skills as well as introduce students to a variety of drama skills and techniques. Students can then choose to study Drama at GCSE or Theatre Studies at A-level, both of which are popular choices in the school.

Drama at different levels

	Drama is taught as a discrete subject at Key Stage 3 and the emphasis is on skills and confidence building.
	At GCSE we follow the AQA syllabus which is 60% practical and 40% written exam. In the written exam students are expected to respond to plays and live theatre they have seen.
	At A-level we also follow the AQA syllabus which at AS and A2 is 40% practical, 60% written exam. Further details of the AQA course can be found in the sixth form curriculum pages. Please click here.

Course Content
These are some of the topics studied in each year:

	Year 7 - Pantomime skills, Conflict and Tension in Drama, Shakespeare.
	Year 8 - Physical Theatre, Forum Theatre, Drama from other Cultures
	Year 9 - Theatre history from Greek Theatre to present day, Shakespeare for SATS, acting for film.
	Year 10 - Improvisation, Script work, Dance/Drama or devised Drama.
	Year 11 - Theatre in Education (performed to Shottery Primary School), free choice, exam preparation.
	Year 12 - "Yerma" by Lorca, "Antigone" by Sophocles, Devised Drama, Stanislavski.
	Year 13 - "Hedda Gabler" by Ibsen, "Our Country's Good" by Wertenbaker, Scripted Drama, Peter Brook.

School Productions
The School puts on a main school production once a year in the spring term. There are, however, a number of productions staged by the Drama Groups which are run by members of the sixth form. In the last two years, the following productions have been performed:
February 2008 - "Animal Farm" - a whole school production
May 2007 - "Peter Pan" - a Y8/9 drama club production
March 2007 - "Funny Girl" - a whole school musical
April 2006 - "Lady Windermere's Fan" - a whole school production
February 2006 - "Alice in Wonderland" - a Year 8/9 Drama Club production
Dec 2005 - "Cuba" - a Senior Drama Club production
July 2005 "A Midsummer Night's Dream" - a Senior Drama Club production
April 2005 - "Sweet Charity" - a whole school musical.
December 2005 "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - a Senior Drama Club production
December 2005 - "The Little Prince" - a whole school production performed in French.

This year there are a number of extra-curricular drama productions in process:

The Labyrinth- a year seven production.

For information about Drama at A-level, please click here.

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