Drama KS3 Programme



Students in KS3 receive one lesson of Drama a fortnight. An exciting and dynamic curriculum, students have the opportunity to refine their performance skills as well as develop important life skills such as: public speaking and working as part of a team. For students who enjoy performing to an audience, there is also the opportunity to attend drama clubs (currently suspended due to COVID restrictions) within their respective year group during which, they prepare for the KS3 Drama Festival, held annually.

Year 7:
During year 7, students focus on the following skills as they prepare for the demands of GCSE Drama and the requirements of English speaking and listening tasks.

  • Working as part of a team
  • Learning how to use drama words: tableaux, physical theatre, protagonist
  • Adopting and sustaining a role
  • Script writing – adapting an extract from a novel for the stage
  • Using physical theatre in Shakespeare’s The Tempest
  • Improvising a scene while in character
  • Using the ‘fixed point’ in mime work
  • Learning about the characters in the Commedia
  • Showing self-discipline in comedy work
  • Using drama skills to tell a story

Year 8:
Throughout year 8, students focus on the following skills as they continue to prepare for the demands of GCSE Drama and the requirements of English speaking and listening tasks.

  • Working as part of a team in Darkwood Manor
  • Learning how to create dramatic tension
  • Applying drama skills to the play Macbeth
  • Using tone and body language to create subtext
  • Learning techniques used by actors in a  classical play
  • Demonstrating understanding of the difference between Realism and Melodrama
  • Using clowning techniques to interpret a play
  • Learning how choral speaking can create tension
  • Applying knowledge of genre to a ‘soap’ scenario

Year 9:

During year 9, students continue to prepare for the demands of GCSE Drama and the requirements of English speaking and listening tasks by focusing on the following skills:

  • Inferring meaning from a series of facts
  • Creating character inspired by these facts
  • Developing a narrative and performed in at least 2 different styles
  • Understanding the conventions of melodrama and pantomime
  • Demonstrating how to use eye-contact and body language to create dramatic tension
  • Interpreting script and performing as a group
  • Examining group and leadership skills
  • Adapting language to suit  purpose
  • Interacting and responding in a group situation
  • Creating and sustaining a role
  • Demonstrating an understanding of interview skills