About Our Subject
Drama Curriculum Plan: Oldbury Wells School
Drama is an exciting and inspiring subject at KS3 and 4. The Drama curriculum at Oldbury Wells School provides opportunities for students to learn through working with others, problem solving, commitment, focus, self-discipline, creativity, confidence, and self-expression. The Drama department are creative, inspiring, and energetic, showing true dedication and support to all our students. Drama lessons incorporate both practical and theoretic elements ensuring a rich learning environment. Our schemes of work focus on building knowledge of drama techniques and theatre theory as well as presenting opportunities to explore various social, cultural, and historical factors through the art form of performance. The knowledge we impart, the challenges we give our students, and the practical skills we teach them, provide transferrable skills which will help our students in their further education, higher education, and future careers.
The Drama curriculum is focused around creating, performing, responding, and evaluating. Further study is available at Post-16 as we offer A Level Drama and Theatre Studies. There are a number of opportunities for students to attend extra-curricular activities in Drama, including Drama Club, school production rehearsals and external visits to see live theatre.
KS3 Drama
Practical: Students are taught a range of performance techniques and styles to explore in practical work, as well as experience being an audience for others. They are taught analytical skills to enable them to analyse and evaluate their own performance and that of others. We use variety of play text-based extracts and other forms of prose to stimulate students in their practical creativity and empathy. These allow students to explore performance skills and techniques in groups or pairs, leading to a performance of the extract. They gain both independence and co-operation skills in working with others, problem solving through the process of devising and rehearsing.
Theory: Students are introduced to Drama/Theatre theory that is required at GCSE. The aim is for students to build and apply a repertoire of theatre knowledge so that well they are well equipped for further study.
KS4 Drama
Specification: GCSE AQA Drama
Component 1: Understanding Drama Drama Theory- Stage configurations, Types of Staging, Theatre Roles and Responsibilities. Students study a substantial text which they explore as an actor, a director and as theatre designers. They experience research tasks for context and themes, as well as exploring character and styles for a production of the text. As part of the course, they will experience at least one performance of live theatre and undertake a review of this production as written analysis and evaluation.
Component 2: Devising Drama Students are given a range of stimuli to engage with in a creative process of devising, rehearsing, and performing their own piece of group performance.
Component 3: Texts in Practice Students perform extracts from a play text to a visiting examiner from a choice of monologue, duologue, or group piece.
