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Drama

Curriculum Intent

Drama offers a unique contribution to the curriculum. It has a value as a cross-curricular subject and as an art in its own right. The Drama classroom provides opportunity for students to develop skills in communication and empathy, whilst supporting students in understanding concepts and characters in other subjects. We aim to give learners the opportunity to be creative, foster independent thought and build confidence. Drama exposes students to a range of scripts and develops the enjoyment of theatre and live performances. Our students have the opportunities to explore all facets of the theatre including devising, producing and critically exploring text and performance.   

Curriculum Outline

Key Stage Three Drama

In year 7, Drama skills and strategies are used to develop storytelling. Firstly, students will discover the origins of pantomime and master the conventions needed to create comic and entertaining performances. The students develop characterisation skills and experiment with exaggeration and communicating effectively with an audience. The drama curriculum then moves on to introduce learners to Drama skills such as voice projection, audience awareness and characterisation through exploration of storytelling through the horror genre.

In year 8, students of Drama use performance skills for scripted work and explore the whole play ‘Private Peaceful’. Students explore and develop key skills such as utilising features of physical theatre, creating opportunities for flash backs or thought-tracking and scripting narration in their own performances. They aim to effectively stage scenes from a script and build foundational performance skills such as slow motion, levels and proxemics. In the second unit, students use the play ‘Blackout’ to build on their improvisation and devising skills as they create their own exciting pieces of Drama incorporating the style of physical theatre.

Drama students in year 9 will collaborate in response to a stimulus based on the theme of ‘The Seven Deadly Sins’ to create their own original performance. The students develop Drama skills of using body language, voice, gesture, proxemics, and levels to create convincing characters and interactions in performance to impact their audience. In addition, students in year 9 will also get the opportunity to study the whole play ‘Billy Elliott’ to understand how a play reflects the time and society in which it is written. An in depth study of the playwright, characters, themes and context are used to develop students’ understanding of authorial intent and help analyse and present characters’ motivation in performance through physical skills and voice. 

Year 10 Curriculum

Throughout the study of GCSE Drama, students will be given opportunities to participate in and evaluate their own and others’ drama pieces. Firstly, learners create and develop ideas to communicate meaning in a devised theatrical performance in response to a given stimulus. Next, students of Drama explore a whole text, ‘Blood Brothers’, developing an understanding of the playwright’s intent and analysing the theatrical elements of the play in performance. Finally, students get the opportunity to look at texts in practice through application of theatrical skills to realise intensions in a live theatre performance. Students will explore a range of scripts to conduct their own research and develop their own understanding of characters, theme and plot in order to enhance their own interpretations and performances which engage and encourage appropriate emotional reactions from the audience.

Year 11 Curriculum

In year 11, students of Drama continue their preparation for their GCSE. Firstly, students develop their understanding of texts in practice through application of theatrical skills to realise intensions in a live theatre performance. Students will explore a range of theatrical skills, especially how to use their voice and body to convey meaning and portray understanding of characters, theme and plot in order to enhance their own interpretations and performances which create a convincing performer-audience relationship. Students also have to opportunity to further develop knowledge and understanding of the characteristics and contexts of a whole play (their set text- Blood Brothers) and explore ideas to show understanding of Drama and how a play may be interpreted practically. Students do a live theatre review based on a visit to watch a current performance to analyse and evaluate the work of others.

Extra-Curricular

We are really excited to welcome a new partnership with Curve Theatre. This will provide students with many opportunities throughout the year such as Drama Club, workshops, theatre visits and other exciting events.

Fullhurst Community College

Imperial Campus
Imperial Avenue
Leicester
LE3 1AH

Fosse Campus
3 Ellesmere Rd
Leicester
LE3 1BE

tel: 0116 282 4326
fax: 0116 282 5781
email: office@fullhurst.leicester.sch.uk