The way in which actors, directors & designers combine their disciplines to communicate stories, characters, and issues to an audience, underpins our drama curriculum at Passmores. We believe that theatre is a powerful and exciting art form and wish to pass that passion on to our pupils through practical activities alongside script analysis, viewing and evaluating live performances, devising original dramatic pieces and engaging with different styles, historical periods and genres. We aim to instil in our learners a deep understanding of how meaning is communicated through theatrical performance, whatever form or discipline they choose to focus on, and an appreciation of how that can be done.  

What does Key Stage 3 look like? 

Y7 topics covered:  

• An introduction to working with scripts & performing characters.  

• Introduction to devising dramatic material - Learning to create theatre from a stimulus. 

• Developing drama workshop and performance skills. 

• Evaluating Live Theatre – National Theatre’s Peter Pan. 

Y8 topics covered:  

• Working with masks.  

• Devising a narrative (from a photographic stimulus).  

• Devising from a scripted stimulus. 

• Evaluating live theatre – attending a live show or watching a recorded performance. 

Y9 topics covered: 

• Developing drama workshop skills – studying practitioners and their approaches. 

• Exploring contemporary writers and how social issues can be presented theatrically – Evan Placey “Girls Like That”. 

• Devising original dramatic material from a chosen stimulus. 

By the end of KS3 pupils know how to work co-operatively and creatively with peers and can access a variety of devising and performance skills as part of their drama workshop repertoire.  They will also have some understanding of the role design plays in theatre. They will have experienced a live theatrical performance and begun to develop analytical skills. They have a growing understanding of the historical role of theatre and the arts within a cultured society. 

What does KS4 look like? 

Y10 & 11 topics covered:  

During Years 10 and 11, pupils will undertake a full study of their GCSE course and begin to create and finalise their examined performances and coursework before preparing for their final written paper at the end of Year 11. 

• Presenting and performing our GCSE set text, “Gizmo” by Alan Ayckbourn. 

• Devising Drama – creating original performance material from a choice of exam board stimuli (this unit is 30% of their final GCSE grade). 

• Presenting and Performing Texts – creating 2 extracts from a chosen script for performance  - assessed by an external examiner. 

• Evaluating a live theatrical performance – how to produce an evaluative essay under exam conditions. 

Our aim for learners at the end of their KS4 journey is for them to have a lifelong love and appreciation of theatre and an interest that will continue beyond education. During Years 10 & 11, pupils are offered more opportunities to visit live theatrical performances, both locally and in London’s West End. We aim for pupils to leave us with a desire to continue to study drama and theatre arts and contribute to the incredibly successful UK Creative Arts Industry either as consumers or artistic contributors/employees.