Drama Curriculum Overview
Curriculum Intent
Our Drama curriculum empowers students to explore creativity, build confidence, and develop the skills to communicate effectively. Through practical and written work, students learn to devise, perform, and analyse theatre with an understanding of its social, cultural, and political contexts.
At each stage, learners gain:
- Confidence in performing and collaborating.
- Creativity in developing and realising artistic ideas.
- Critical thinking in analysing and evaluating their own and others’ work.
From Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 5, students progress from mastering core drama skills to producing sophisticated, original theatre and insightful critical responses. They leave with a strong artistic voice and an appreciation of theatre’s power to reflect and challenge the world around them.
Drama embodies our four curriculum pillars:
- Knowledge – Students study theatre practitioners, performance styles, and technical elements such as staging, lighting, and costume. They learn how meaning is created for an audience through acting, design, and direction.
- Independence – Learners take ownership of creative ideas, working collaboratively in devising and rehearsal. They learn to refine performances through discipline, feedback, and self-evaluation.
- Empowerment – Drama develops confidence and communication, empowering students to express opinions and understand diverse perspectives. Students engage critically with social, moral, and political issues through performance.
- Inclusion – The subject celebrates all voices and stories, ensuring that every student can participate and succeed, regardless of background or ability. Theatre is used as a tool for empathy, understanding and inclusion.
Key Stage 3 (Years 7–9)
At Key Stage 3, students build essential performance and creative skills through a wide range of topics that explore storytelling, social issues, and theatrical styles. Lessons are practical, imaginative, and collaborative — allowing students to develop their confidence and curiosity as performers and creators.
Year 7 Topics
- Basic Drama Skills – Still image, mime, role play, and thought-tracking to build communication and confidence.
- Physical Theatre (Roald Dahl) – Using movement and ensemble work to tell stories in a stylised way.
- Shakespeare for a Modern World – Adapting classic stories for contemporary audiences using creative staging and language.
Year 8 Topics
- Missing Person – Devising original drama from a central stimulus.
- Genres – Exploring different performance styles such as melodrama, slapstick, and horror.
- Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Physical theatre and storytelling inspired by Frantic Assembly.
Year 9 Topics
- Trestle Masks – Communicating character and emotion through physicality.
- DNA (Dennis Kelly) – Performing and analysing a modern script.
- Devising Project – Creating original theatre in response to a stimulus, developing teamwork, creativity and self-reflection.
Through KS3, students develop a strong foundation in devising, performance, and evaluation — preparing them for the rigour of GCSE Drama.
Key Stage 4 (GCSE Drama- AQA)
GCSE Drama gives students the opportunity to explore theatre practically and academically. They learn how plays are constructed, how performances are created, and how meaning is communicated to an audience.
Students gain experience in acting, devising, directing, and analysis, working both collaboratively and independently to create original and scripted performances.
Topics and Components
- Component 1: Understanding Drama (40%)
Written paper exploring the set text Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman and evaluating live theatre performances.
- Component 2: Devising Drama (40%)
Students create and perform original theatre based on a stimulus. They document and evaluate their creative process through a written logbook.
- Component 3: Texts in Practice (20%)
Students perform two extracts from a published play, applying advanced acting and design skills.
Skills Developed
- Acting, movement and voice work
- Devising and directing
- Evaluation and critical reflection
- Understanding design elements: lighting, sound, set and costume
- Analysis of practitioners such as Stanislavski, Brecht, Artaud and Frantic Assembly
Drama at GCSE encourages creativity, confidence and collaboration. It builds literacy, empathy and communication skills — all essential for further study and life beyond school.
Key Stage 5 (A Level Drama & Theatre – AQA)
A Level Drama & Theatre deepens students’ understanding of theatre-making and performance. Learners interpret set texts, devise original work influenced by practitioners, and perform to audiences with increasing sophistication.
Topics and Components
- Component 1: Drama and Theatre (Written Exam – 40%)
Study of two set texts, Our Country’s Good and Accidental Death of an Anarchist, exploring context, style and staging.
Students also evaluate live theatre performances.
- Component 2: Creating Original Drama (Devising – 30%)
Students devise and perform an original piece influenced by key practitioners such as Brecht, Artaud, or Frantic Assembly, supported by a written working notebook.
- Component 3: Making Theatre (Practical – 30%)
Students perform extracts from three contrasting plays, demonstrating the influence of practitioners and refined performance skills.
A Level Drama fosters independent thinking, creativity, and critical analysis — preparing students for further study in performing arts, English, or any field requiring communication, collaboration and leadership.
Links to Other Areas of Study
Drama connects closely with English, PSHE, and History, reinforcing literacy, empathy, and understanding of social and cultural contexts. Students develop confidence in public speaking and the ability to work creatively in teams — skills that enhance success across the curriculum and beyond.
