Drama
Drama Curriculum Vision
At Epsom & Ewell High School, Drama is underpinned by the following three key strands: performing, devising and appreciating. Using drama’s innate nature of play developed from a child’s early years, the drama curriculum begins by building on these foundations. Not only does this enable them to explore different perspectives, it encourages them to develop their performance skills.
All students in Year 7, 8 and 9 will participate in Performing Arts lessons (Drama, Dance, Music) with subjects rotating with subjects rotating each term. By the end of KS3, students will have completed 6 schemes of work in each subject. This gives the students the opportunity to gain basic skills and knowledge of each art form.
Drama is about developing our students’ imagination, cooperation, clarity of communication and critical thinking. These transferable skills are not solely applicable to other performing arts subjects but can also be applied to the wider curriculum.
How do we help our students to ROAR?
Resilient: In Drama we encourage all students to take risks in their learning, ensuring they are able to extend themselves and achieve to the best of their abilities. We pride ourselves on creating an engaging curriculum, encouraging all pupils to invest in their learning, through schemes of work that have a clear purpose. We strive to create a safe space for pupils to improve their skills in, through atmosphere in which effort is praised and pupils work as a team.
Open-Minded: Students are exposed to a range of topics, plays, drama genres and moral/social issues through a range of stimuli, which expose students to a variety of perspectives (each with their own individual context). Students are encouraged and supported to explore these stimuli with an open-mind, through the creation of an atmosphere in which they are able to debate, discuss and explore.
Aspirational: In order to support our students in setting goals for themselves (both long and short term) we expose our students to real-life examples of the performing arts. We offer them opportunities to perform, as well as enabling them to participate in workshops led by industry professionals. This enables students to see themselves as part of the creative arts industry and ensures that they are able to see a future in this.
Reflective: Students are supported to reflect upon their progress at regular intervals throughout the key stages. Students use their deep learning skills of analysis and evaluation to review performances. In reviewing their own performances and the performances of others, they utilise their skills of self and peer assessment. Through the use of deep learning and specific, personalised F.I.T (feedback improvement time) we ask students to take a decisive role in their own progress by reflecting upon concise feedback which will extend their learning.
Year 7:
Intent:
Based on the opportunities that the KS1/2 English curriculum offers, the Year 7 schemes of work revisit key skills of improvisation, devising and script work. Year 7 is an introduction to drama in which students build upon their performance skills and learn basic drama techniques/styles. At the end of Year 7, we build upon the knowledge and skills learnt throughout the year in order to appreciate script work.
Implementation:
Year 8:
Intent:
In Year 8, pupils continue to develop their performance skills as well as analyse two plays. This involves an exploration of the social/historical context of the pieces, as well as exploring the contrasting styles/structures of the two pieces. In this year, students learn how to devise by exploring the discussion around moral/social responsibility.
Implementation:
Year 9:
Intent:
During Year 9, students explore different styles of theatre (abstract and naturalistic). Building on the analysis skills learnt previously, students explore texts at a deeper level from the perspective of both performer and director. They also tackle more complex/mature roles in order to further develop their performance and devising skills.
Implementation:
Year 10:
Intent:
During this year, students apply their knowledge and skills to explore the work of a variety of theatre practitioners as well as the Edexcel set text, ‘DNA’. Students consolidate their knowledge of different viewpoints in theatre making (performer, director and designer). This equips students with the skills that they will need for their written exam in Year 11. At the end of this year, students will utilise their developed devising skills in order to begin devising a piece of drama, inspired by set stimuli (this contributes to 40% of the Drama GCSE).
Implementation:
Year 11:
Intent:
This year we revisit the appreciation skills that students will need to support them in their written exam, in which they will write as a performer, director and designer. Within this exam, they will also review a piece of live theatre. Alongside this, students will explore a range of published plays in order to prepare them for a practical examination.
Implementation:
Year 12:
Intent:
In year 12 we encourage our students to develop a will to take risks. This year is an exploration of a variety of practitioners which students will apply to their devising exam in the summer term. Alongside this, students will explore the set text, ‘That Face’ by Polly Stenham in preparation for their written exam, which will develop their analytical and evaluative skills. Students will be introduced to a variety of live performances to broaden their appreciation of drama. Students will continue to develop their opinions and identity through extended discussion and analytical writing.
Implementation:
Year 13:
Intent:
This year we revisit the appreciation skills that students will need to support them in their written exam. Alongside this, students will explore a range of published plays in order to prepare them for a practical examination to demonstrate their performance skills that have been refined throughout the course. Students will study the classic play ‘Woyzeck’ by Goerg Bunchner to develop a realisation for this text for a 21st century audience.
Implementation:
