Drama

St. Peter’s drama department aim to develop:

Resilient young people with excellent
Oratory skills who have the
Confidence to perform and share their opinions in a caring and supportive atmosphere, whilst developing
Knowledge of Drama Practitioners, styles and performances, becoming creative and well-rounded individuals who are equipped to deal with the challenges that life presents.

Catholic Social Teaching is imbedded into the Drama Curriculum throughout KS3, KS4 and KS5. Each unit of work at KS3 encourages students to respect the ideas of others whilst also developing a sense of community and responsibility by working and performing together. Some more obvious units of work include: Epic theatre in year 8 – where students devise a piece of drama that looks at climate change and how we can be good stewards for the planet; ‘The Tempest’ in Year 7, where students explore the treatment of Ariel (a servant) and Caliban (a slave) and Verbatim theatre in Year 9, where students are encouraged to ‘give a voice to the voiceless’ (The Paper Birds).

KS3 Drama

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, resilience, creative thinking and working as part of a team. For students who enjoy performing to an audience, there is also the opportunity to attend drama clubs within their respective year group during which, they prepare for the Junior Drama Production, held annually.

KS4 Drama 

GCSE Drama is an exciting and challenging course which focuses on performing and presenting skills, providing opportunities for you to work as part of a team in both scripted and devised drama. You will develop essential communication and presentation skills during the course which transfer to the workplace in any profession. Indeed, previous drama students have gone on to occupations ranging from theatre and theatre administration, teaching and the law to medicine, the services and business enterprise.

The course offers students the opportunity to explore drama as a practical art form in which ideas and meaning are communicated to an audience through choices of form, style and convention.

Students will create, perform and respond to drama informed by their theoretical knowledge of drama and theatre.

The subject content details the knowledge, understanding and skills that students are expected to develop throughout the course of study.

Course Content:

Lessons involve practical work, including collaborating with others, exploring ideas in different forms through a study of theatre history, text based work, improvisation, physical theatre and technical elements. Theory work includes reading and analysing texts and the ideas of different theatre practitioners. Students need to see live theatre both with the school and independently which will be discussed and analysed in lessons.

Reference Websites:
National Theatre Catalogue (please see Mrs Skyrme for username and password): www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/
Frantic Assembly: www.franticassembly.co.uk
The Paper Birds: www.thepaperbirds.com

Curriculum Overview by Year Group and Term

Term 1	Term 2	Term 3	Term 4	Term 5	Term 6
Project 1: A Christmas Carol	Project 1: A Christmas Carol	Project 1: A Christmas Carol	Project 2: Theatre History 1 – Greek theatre/Commedia	Project 2: Theatre History 1 – Greek theatre/Commedia	Project 3: Theatre History 1 – The Tempest

Term 1	Term 2	Term 3	Term 4	Term 5	Term 6
Project 1: Theatre History 2 – Melodrama/Realism/ Epic theatre	Project 1: Theatre History 2 – Melodrama/Realism/ Epic theatre	Project 2: Creating Tension – Performance Poetry/Darkwood Manor and Macbeth	Project 2: Creating Tension – Performance Poetry/Darkwood Manor and Macbeth	Project 3: Design in the Theatre – Hansel and Gretel	Project 3: Design in the Theatre – Hansel and Gretel

Term 1	Term 2	Term 3	Term 4	Term 5	Term 6
Project 1: Devising from a Stimulus – Charles Walton Murder Mystery	Project 1: Devising from a Stimulus – Charles Walton Murder Mystery	Project 2: Page to Stage and Creative Adaptation: Romeo and Juliet/Noughts and Crosses	Project 2: Page to Stage and Creative Adaptation: Romeo and Juliet/Noughts and Crosses	Project 2: Page to Stage and Creative Adaptation: Romeo and Juliet/Noughts and Crosses	Project 3: Understanding Context – Design in Macbeth

Term 1	Term 2	Term 3	Term 4	Term 5	Term 6
Exploring Theatre History and Styles (Component 2)	Exploring Theatre History and Styles (Component 2). Introduction to Component 1 – Live Production	Live Production (Component 1) Introduction to Devising Stimulus (Component 2)	Component 2 – Preparing for Performance	Component 2 – Preparing for Performance	Component 1 – Set Text and Live Production

Term 1	Term 2	Term 3	Term 4	Term 5	Term 6
Component 1 – Set Text and Live Production	Component 1 – Set Text. Introduction to Component 3 – Practical exam	Component 3 – Practical Exam	Component 3 – Practical exam	Component 1 - Revision

Curriculum prepared June 2025

Exam Syllabus & RevisionInformation, support & resources
Intent
- to provide a varied and dynamic curriculum
- to meet the needs of all abilities
- to enrich students experience of drama and expand their culture capital
- for students to develop a wide range of performance skills
- for students to develop excellent oracy skills
- for students to develop a wide range of interpersonal skills, which are transferable to all walks of life
- to encourage a love of learing
- for students to develop a range of evaluative and analytical skills in order to be able to reflect on their own learning.
- Students are introduced to a range of playscripts
Implementation
Drama is taught to every student in KS3 once a fortnight. GCSE and A Level Drama courses are offered to a range of student abilities. All classes, from KS3 - KS5 are mixed ability.
- Differentiation is achieved through modified tasks, extension tasks, placement of students in groups and by outcome.
- Students at KS4 and KS5 are offered numerous opportunities to attend live theatre. All students in the school have access to the National Theatre schools catalogue.
- The KS3 curriculum introduces students to a wide range of practitioners and theatre styles as well as exploring theatre history.
- Students across the curriculum have numerous opportunities to perform, both in lessons and through extra-curricular productions.
- Students develop interpersonal skills by working effectively with others in a supportive environment.
- Students evaluate and analyse their own performance, reviewing their learning, at KS3; at KS4 and KS5 they also analyse and evaluate the work of other performers.
- Students explore one Shakespeare play a year at KS3; one contemporary play a year at KS3; 'Noughts and Crosses' at KS4 and, at KS5, 'Jerusalem' and 'Our Country's Good'
Impact
- Students feel comfortable and confident to perform in a range of styles and can adapt their physical and vocal skills accordingly.
- Students can confidently use key terms when analysing and evaluating their own work. They can pick out key moments from their performance and explain how they created an impact.
- Students are able to discuss and draw on a wide range of literature/live performances to influence their own work.
- Students have a wide knowledge of theatrical styles and practitioners and, at GCSE and A Level, are able to apply features of these styles with confidence when developing their own work.
- Students have a range of transferable/interpersonal skills that they are able to employ with confidence in most situations.
- Students are confident when working with scripts, including Shakespeare. They are able to explain their interpretation of characters and have an understanding of the context of the play.
- Students are assessed twice a year to check the development of their performance and evaluative skills at KS3.
- In 2022, 100% of GCSE students achieved Grade 4 - 9. There was a 100% pass rate at A Level.

Drama

Drama

KS3 Drama

KS4 Drama

Course Content:

Curriculum Overview by Year Group and Term

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

KS4 Drama 