All students study drama for one hour a week in Year 7 and 8, with the option to have two lessons a week in Year 9.
The aims of the course of study are:
- to give students a life-long love of the subject
- to develop their creativity, confidence and discipline
- to acquire the skills to write about the subject with accuracy and insight
- to develop skills transferable to the wider world
- to equip students with the skills needed to be successful in the subject at Key Stage 4.
Year 7
Curriculum
Actor’s Toolkit
An introduction to some of the most fundamental drama techniques.
Jack and the Beanstalk
Practical investigation of themes from the well-known fairy tale.
Waxworks
Development and analysis of physical acting skills.
Oliver Twist
Using the playtext of Charles Dickens’ classic novel to examine character and circumstances.
Greek Theatre
A practical exploration of the style and techniques in Greek theatre, many of which are the foundation of modern drama.
Starbeast
A development and application of the drama techniques explored over the year.
Assessment
Actor’s Toolkit
Practical – Baseline assessment on students’ ability to employ basic acting skills and techniques.
Written – Explanation of how the student created a mime performance during the half term.
Jack and the Beanstalk
Practical – Assessment in pairs of a scene between Jack and his mother.
Written – A test on subject matter covered over the half term
Waxworks
Practical – Ongoing assessment of the students’ ability to rehearse effectively.
Written – An analysis of how the student has improved their movement skills during the half term.
Oliver Twist
Practical – Assessment of the students’ ability to perform in a scripted scene from Oliver Twist.
Written – A test on subject matter covered over the half term.
Greek Theatre
Practical – Ongoing assessment, based on students’ ability to apply acting skills and techniques required for performing to big audiences.
Written – A test on subject matter covered during over the half term.
Starbeast
Practical – Assessment of the student’s ability to create an original character.
Written – An evaluation of the student’s most successful performance during the half term
Progress & Preparation Activities (PPA)
Details of the PPA will be uploaded soon. Six PPA sheets will be posted over the course of this year, each representing a half-term.
Further Resources
The school has a subscription to The Day, an online news service for schools. Click the button to the right, in order to view activities and discussion points for drama. You can log in with the following details:
User: isleworthtw75lj
Pass: theday
Please see below for a number of resources to maximise students’ progress during their Year 8 curriculum.
Year 8
Curriculum
Darkwood Manor
Exploration and application of the acting skills and techniques used in the horror genre.
Developing Stagecraft
Using Off Balance theatre company’s version of ‘Robin Hood’. The students will develop their skills to devise their own original work in a new theatrical style.
Comedy
Students will learn some of the rules of performing comedy, comic archetypes and comedy’s origins in older forms of theatre
Melodrama
An introduction to the conventions and style of the genre of melodrama, using the popular Victorian story of Sweeney Todd.
Anne Frank
Learning to develop characterization sensitively.
Film
Students will extend their knowledge and understanding of the way that films are constructed for an audience.
Assessment
Darkwood Manor
Practical – Ongoing assessment of the students’ ability to create drama using a classic drama structure.
Written – A test on subject matter covered over the half term.
Developing stagecraft
Practical – Assessment in final original performance piece.
Written – An evaluation of the student’s final performance. description of how the student applied their vocal skills to a performance over the half term.
Comedy
Practical – Assessment of the students’ performance in a comic scene.
Written – An evaluation of another students’ comic performance.
Melodrama
Practical – Ongoing assessment of the students’ embedding of melodramatic conventions.
Written – A test on subject matter covered over the half term
Anne Frank
Practical – Assessment of students’ creation of a naturalistic character.
Written – An explanation of how a section of text could be delivered as a monologue
Film
Practical – Ongoing assessment of the students’ ability to employ film conventions in their own work.
Written – A test on subject matter covered over the half term
Progress & Preparation Activities (PPA)
Details of the PPA will be uploaded soon. Six PPA sheets will be posted over the course of this year, each representing a half-term.
Further Resources
The school has a subscription to The Day, an online news service for schools. Click the button to the right, in order to view activities and discussion points for drama. You can log in with the following details:
User: isleworthtw75lj
Pass: theday
Please see below for a number of resources to maximise students’ progress during their Year 8 curriculum.
- Off Balance: ‘Robin Hood’ (Part 1 and Part 2 ) – Off Balance’s version of ‘Robin Hood’, used in Developing Stagecraft.
- YouTube: Commedia Dell’Arte – videos related to the topic made by the National Theatre
- YouTube: Tod Slaughter – the melodramatic actor shows how he creates his most famous villains
- BBC News – an interesting BBC article about an upcoming multimedia production of the life of Anne Frank
- Film-making – film seen in class that details the shots used in film making.
Year 9
Curriculum
Stanislavski vs Brecht
An exploration and development of the theatrical styles of the two most influential practitioners of the twentieth century; Constantin Stanislavski and Bertolt Brecht.
Scripted project
GCSE-style performance project using a section from ‘Lord of the Flies’.
Modern Practitioners
An exploration of the style and techniques of physical theatre practitioners Steven Berkoff and Frantic Assembly.
Devised project
GCSE-style devised thematic performance project based on a GCSE stimulus.
Writing about Drama
Analysis and application of the skills required to write about performance at GCSE.
Lizzie Borden
Students make use of the skills they have learnt over the course of Key Stage 3 to reconstruct a famous unsolved case.
Assessment
Stanislavski vs Brecht
Practical – Use of landmark rehearsals to assess students’ ability to apply the style and techniques of two key practitioners using extracts of text from well-known pieces of theatre.
Written – A test on subject matter covered over the half term.
Scripted Project
Practical – Assessed final performance of script.
Written – An evaluation of the student’s success in their final performance as a character from ‘Lord of the Flies’.
Modern Practitioners
Practical – Use of landmark rehearsals to assess students’ ability to work within groups to produce better collaborative work.
Written – A test on subject matter covered over the half term.
Devised project
Practical – Assessed final performance of script.
Written – A development log of the initial, middle and later stages of the creation of the piece.
Writing about Performance
Written – Examination in which students write extended answers in response to a performance they have watched.
Lizzie Borden
Practical – Ongoing assessment of rehearsal and performance process.
Written – A test on subject matter covered over the half term.
Progress & Preparation Activities (PPA)
Details of the PPA will be uploaded soon. Six PPA sheets will be posted over the course of this year, each representing a half-term.
Further Resources
The school has a subscription to The Day, an online news service for schools. Click the button to the right, in order to view activities and discussion points for drama. You can log in with the following details:
User: isleworthtw75lj
Pass: theday
Please see below for a number of resources to maximise students’ progress during their Year 9 curriculum.
