Year 7 topics:

• Waxworks (creating a whole class performance) 
• Bullying
• Shakespeare
• Animal rights and Children’s rights
• Devising from a stimulus

Year 8 topics:

• Comedy
• War Memorial (looking at WW1 and portraying realistic drama)
• ‘The Stones’ (exploring peer pressure and risky behaviour)
• Relationships (exploring issues around privacy, social media and looking at the features of a positive relationship)
• Identification (using a poem as a stimulus)
• Devising from a stimulus

GCSE Courses/Topics:

• Gang crime
• Physical theatre
• Use of masks to develop storytelling skills
• Devising from a stimulus
• The study of two theatre practitioners (Stanislavski and Brecht)
• Script work including duologues
• Study of a set text for written exam
• Evaluating live theatre
• Exploring performance elements and design elements.

Alevel Courses/Topics:

• Theatre history-from Ancient Greek Theatre to the 21st century
• Studying a rnage of theatre practitioners
• A group performance of a text
• Performing a monologue or a duologue
• Devising your own original piece of theatre
• Study of a two set texts.

• Develop your ability to work with other people
• Express yourself creatively every lesson and develop your imagination
• Learn about different techniques and styles when creating Drama
• Develop your ability to reflect and evaluate your work and the work of others
• Develop your way of looking at the world, by exploring a variety of social and historical situations
• Valuable if considering a career in the Arts industry or if you want to perform in the future

Q.  Do I just need to be good at acting to do well in Drama?
A.  No. Successful Drama students are not just talented actors. To succeed you need to have high levels of concentration, be able to motivate others and lead a group as well as being able to work effectively with different people. It is important that you can empathise with others and consider the world around you. In order to do well in Drama you need to be confident as you will spend a lot of time giving ideas and offering your point of view as well as performing to an audience.

Q.  Will I be expected to perform every lesson?
A.  You will be expected to perform with other people, however not every Drama lesson will be focused on performance i.e. you might be brainstorming ideas or working closely with others to explore an idea, an issue or a theme. You will not always be expected to perform in a group; you might be working as a whole class, in a pair or individually. 

At GCSE and A-Level you should expect to perform every lesson, even if it is sharing work in progress.

Q.  Will I have to write in Drama?
A.  Yes! Being able to write about the creative process, evaluate practical work and write imaginatively about character development are all important skills in Drama. At KS3 you will be expected to produce written homework and written evaluations of work completed in class. At GCSE level, there is more of a focus on written work and you should expect to have regular classroom lessons where you will write about the developmental process of your drama as well as studying a play.

Q.  Is Drama seen as a valuable subject?
A.  Many people opt to take Drama because they enjoy the collaborative nature of the subject. Drama is beneficial in the sense that you gain a wide variety of life skills; be it voicing your opinion, working with others or exploring serious ideas in a creative manner. It is a subject that is recognised for how it develops a student’s creativity, co-operation skills and your outlook on the world through exploring different situations in your own individual fashion.

GCSE and A-level Drama has a stronger focus on the theory behind Drama and theatre as well as different acting techniques and styles. These are explored practically, however as you progress up the school there are increasingly more academic and theoretical ideas that underpin these concept.. 

Q.  Are there any extra-curricular activities I can get involved in?
A.  Auditions are open to all students for the school production in the autumn term. There is also a lower school production in the summer term open to all students in Year 7, 8 and 9. At GCSE and A-Level regular theatre trips are organised to introduce students to a variety of performance spaces, styles and playwrights.

National Theatre

Young Vic

A-Level specification
GCSE specification
GCSE revision