Drama

Academic year 2022-23

Curriculum Intent

The Drama department at Wykham Park provides students with the key qualities it takes to be human. We explore the key skills of communication, cooperation and concentration. Students’ interpersonal and social skills develop through the study of drama. We want to provide students with the skills needed to express our feelings in a positive and reflective manner whilst allowing students to develop an analytical understanding of the needs of others.

The curriculum focuses upon Drama being a subject that allows students to take risks in a safe environment, think critically and work collaboratively to explore the arts and its place within society. Students explore ideas and concepts involving putting themselves in other people’s shoes which helps them empathise and understand experiences alien to their own. The environment within the department is fully inclusive allowing students to thrive in a practical setting which builds their confidence, creativity, curiosity and resilience, thus allowing them to further their own sense of identity and belonging in order to be prepared for an ever-changing society.

Students will be taught by experienced teachers. There is an extra-curricular offer with opportunities for students to gain experience as professional actors, performers, directors and technicians. The hope is to develop this further to include more performances in and out of school. A yearly main school production provides the opportunity for the whole school to be involved with all aspects of creating and performing. Students are treated equally within the department and there is a strong sense of collaboration across all year groups. We wish to provide and enhance opportunities for all students in terms of their cultural capital, this is done through their study and through trips & visits, exploring positive communication skills and potentially working with industry professionals.

What will we be studying

Year 7

Students will be learning the basic skills of how to be successful in Drama with the topic Serious Fun and a Twist in the Tale! They will focus on teamwork and how they can use concentration, cooperation and communication to help them in Drama lessons. They will also be exploring non-naturalistic Drama techniques. They will then move onto creating their own production of Arabian Nights using the famous stories adapted by the RSC. Towards the end of the year students will be developing their mask and physical theatre skills in a re-telling of classic story.

Year 8

Students will develop their ideas in the creation of their own performance of the National Theatre version of Treasure Island. They will then further their development of drama techniques by learning about stage combat. At the end of the year students will be using their naturalistic acting skills in the creation of their own version of a soap opera.

Year 9

Pupils will be understanding how to structure scenes and using a variety of non-naturalistic techniques to communicate meaning to an audience. They will then explore the work of theatre makers such as the set designer and create a set design for a scene of a play. The final unit will be developing their use of masks and physical theatre skills.

Year 7, 8 and 9 Drama is on a rotation with Music and you will rotate each short term.

Level 2 BTEC Tech Awards 2022: Performing Arts

Year 10

As we commence students’ BTEC studies, we will start by looking at a mock of all three components. Component 1 Exploring the Performing Arts and Component 2: Developing Skills and Techniques in the Performing Arts. They will study three different theatre performances and look at how they were created and who created them. They will then go on to create a presentation of their research and findings. They will then create a short performance based on one of the performances they have studied. Towards the end of the year, they will start to develop their devising skills in Component 3: Responding to a Brief.

Year 11

In year 11 Students will complete their final assessment on Component 1 & 2 which will be submitted in December. They will then have a mock assessment for Component 3. From February until May students will be completing their final external assessment of Component 3 Responding to a Brief where students will devise a piece in groups.

At Level 3 we offer BTEC Performing Arts Practice (Acting).