Drama

It is our intent in Drama to provide a dynamic, creative and inclusive curriculum experience for students within a safe and productive learning environment where students can expect to be encouraged and challenged. Whilst we develop performance skills, we believe in the holistic development of each child and have identified 5 main skills in which our curriculum is based around; independence, communication, creativity, confidence and empathy. We believe these identified skills are paramount for achieving a life of contentment and success. 

Through devising drama, students build resilience by being challenged to work independently, to be able to come up with their own ideas and opinions, whether this be linked to works of fiction or non-fiction. We promote critical thinking and ask ‘big questions’ to deepen learning and aid inquisitive minds. Creativity is encouraged, with an ethos of failing to succeed, trial and error, encompassing learnt techniques and styles of theatre. Exploring a variety of styles of theatre and their origins supports students in gaining cultural capital, having a further awareness of the world around them.  

Within their work, the skill of communication is key, confidently offering their own ideas and opinions and effectively listening to others, whilst developing the skill of compromise. Opportunities for reading and the use of key vocabulary are embedded within every lesson, supporting students in their theoretical knowledge, from KS3 through to KS5. When creating and exploring characters, we promote the understanding and consideration of empathy, we feel this is a key skill for students to gain emotional intelligence, become kind citizens and have healthy relationships, now and in the future. A number of historical events are covered that support the development of this vital skill, linking the work we do to real life experiences. Throughout all of the work we explore, we promote the development of confidence, whether that is through performance, the offering of their own ideas or evaluating others’ work. To have confidence in oneself is paramount to healthy self-esteem, something that is so important to develop throughout the years of adolescence. 