The Drama Department aims to develop pupils' understanding and appreciation of dramatic art through direct personal experience and observation and analysis.
There are opportunities to explore a wide range of dramatic styles both as spectator and as performer and practitioner.
Programmes of Study Enrichment
Mr N J Bryant (Head of Department)Mrs S A Bryant
In Year 9, the Shell, pupils are introduced to fundamental performance skills in a short course run in conjunction with English classes.
Around 30 pupils per year opt to study GCSE Drama (AQA). In the first year of the course, pupils develop the skills with which to devise their own original dramatic work and to interpret and realise characterisations from published plays. In the second year these skills are extended in preparation for at least three assessed performance pieces, involving devised and improvised work and the performance of existing scripts. For the written component of the examination, pupils develop the ability to watch professional theatre critically, analysing and appreciating the techniques of performance and production.
AS and A2 Drama & Theatre Studies (AQA) is a demanding course that involves the study of plays from different periods and in strongly contrasting styles; these are examined not as literary texts but as blueprints for performance. The course introduces pupils to the inspirational dramatic theories of eminent theatre practitioners; it requires the analysis of professional productions and an ability to solve technical challenges inherent in scripts. The production and performance of two substantial pieces of original drama, one devised and one of a published play, form part of the assessment.
Alongside the curriculum, the Department hosts productions and workshops by leading professional companies and performers - powerful stimuli for pupils' own work - and currently mounts three full-scale productions each year, one for the Shell and two open to the whole College.
The Department aims to produce plays of widely differing styles and content, to broaden pupils' experience of dramatic genres and their awareness of the potential of this challenging art form.