Drama

Subject Intent:
The Drama Department seeks to develop students’ confidence, communication skills and creativity. Our intention is for students’ lives to be enriched through the creative process of devising, performing, analysing and evaluating plays. Students will develop an appreciation of the ways in which playwrights achieve their effects and communicate their intentions to an audience. They will have experience of working in a range of disciplines using Drama techniques to enhance their critical-thinking skills. Students will understand the viewpoints and emotions of a range of characters, and also understand how this impacts their own work.

Subject Implementation:
Students have the opportunity to access a range of opportunities where they can develop creative skills. All students explore exercises to enhance their understanding of: communicating the sense of the written word; understanding of character and situation; perform play texts from memory with fluency and focus; learn to speak with clarity and diction; and, develop movement skills appropriate to character and situation. They will experience live and recorded drama, and respond to a variety of texts, and will begin to develop an appreciation of theatre styles and vocabulary. The subject is cross-curricular and raises the awareness of international texts, playwrights and practitioners. At GCSE and A Level Drama, their work will become more personal and students will be encouraged to be ambitious and sophisticated in the way that they develop their ideas. The skills studied and developed in KS4 and KS5 Drama are key to the modern, professional arts industry. The creative arts industry is one of the UK’s greatest exports around the world.

Subject Impact:
We aim for our students to be confident practitioners who produce work that displays a sound grasp of key areas in Drama and the Performing Arts. Students should be able to understand the creative process and how it impacts on their life and other people’s lives. Their work should show a greater level of sophistication and expertise when using a range of techniques. Our expectations are that students consistently challenge themselves and take risks in the creation and performance of drama in their lessons. Drama should enable our students to become resourceful, open to criticism, adaptable, able to cope with stress management, and creative, confident leaders of tomorrow.