DRAMA AT KS3 AT THE BOURNE

Year 7

In Year 7 drama is aimed at building students confidence and team work skills. They will be working together to learn some basic skills and techniques and will have the opportunity to perform to each other in groups.

1) INTRODUCTION TO DRAMA:
The aim of this unit is to introduce students to drama and allow pupils and teacher to get to know each other. Rules and expectations will be established whilst also creating a safe environment that fosters a caring and sensible atmosphere to enable successful drama work to be carried out.

2) SOLDIER SOLDIER:
The aim of this unit is to introduce pupils to basic performance techniques and drama vocabulary. Pupils will be working towards gaining greater confidence in performing to the group. This unit will be exploring perceptions of male and female relationships whilst using the children’s song Soldier Soldier as a stimulus for various performance tasks.

3) AUDIENCE AWARENESS & PERFORMANCE SPACES:
The aim of this unit is to introduce pupils to different methods of staging their performance. These lessons will motivate them to ensure their scenes are carefully planned with obvious connections to the objectives of each lesson. This will encourage a sense of audience awareness when blocking movements.

4) THE FLOOD:
The aim of this unit is to introduce students into script work and the understanding characters. They will be building their knowledge of characters through improvisation tasks. This scheme is intended to aid students in understanding more advanced skills in drama.

5) THE WILD ONE:
The aim of this unit is to improve pupil’s improvisational skills and to stimulate an imaginative response to the story of the ‘Wild One’. Pupils will also be extending their understanding of more advanced drama skills through the various tasks in this scheme.

6) SHAKESPEARES STORIES:
The scheme is meant to be a fun introduction to Shakespeare for Year 7 pupils. Students will use some of Shakespeare’s Stories and language as a basis for improvisation. Other drama techniques and tasks are used in the lessons in order to students develop an understanding of key themes, ideas and characters in some of his plays without having to read all of the text.

Year 8

In Year 8 the drama curriculum is aimed at students channelling their more creative side. The lessons encourage students to use their imagination within their process of making drama. They will be learning more advanced techniques and building on their performance knowledge and skills.

1) CREATIVE SETS AND ENVIRONMENT:
The aim of this scheme is to provide students with the knowledge for creating a set that does not have consist of building elaborate backgrounds. Students will be building on previous knowledge to create & narrate stories with sets whilst learning how to bring in physical theatre and sounds capes. This will encourage students to use imagination in order to capture the audience’s imagination. Students will also learn theatre/stage configurations and stage directions.

2) RUNNING AWAY: 
The aim of this scheme is for students to build on skills of creating serious drama. They will learn to consider use of language when creating different styles of performance. They will also look at building on their own ideas to develop the story and stimulus each lesson.

3) UNDERSTANDING SCRIPTS:
To allow pupils to consider the types of information provided by a script. To assist them in page to stage explorations.

4) WEST SIDE STORY:
The aim of this scheme is to look at the themes and issues surrounding the musical West Side Story. Students will also have the opportunity to learn rules of stage fighting and create a stage fight scene based on stage directions in the play.

5) GREEK THEATRE:
To learn about the performance elements of Greek Theatre and emulate the style of performance. To consider how these theatrical elements may be applied to modern dramatic performance. To explore the story within Sophocles play ‘King Oedipus’ and perform an extract of the play.

6) FILM AND CAMERA WORK:
Students will be learning technical elements of performance. They will be filming their own script work and devised work. Through doing this they will learn camera angles and learn how to edit scenes for camera.
Students will also learn appropriate style of performance/acting for the camera

Year 9

In year 9 students are really preparing students for the kind of work they would be doing for their GCSE drama. We will be looking at improving performance skills and ensuring that they understand the main techniques used in performance.

1) SPONTANEOUS IMPROVISATION:
The aim of this unit is to teach pupils the techniques for sustaining a spontaneous improvisation and become confident at responding spontaneously to a given stimulus.. Students will explore teenage issues whilst using spontaneous drama techniques.

2) DRAMATIC TENSION AND LIGHTING:
The aim of this unit is to teach students to appreciate the need for mood and atmosphere and give them the skills to create these in performance. They will be building on skills learnt so far but enhancing there all round knowledge of drama by looking at basic lighting and using new terminology.

3) EDUCATING RITA:
The aim of this unit is to introduce pupils to more advanced script. This unit will encourage pupils to consider the subtext to improve their understanding of how a script can be interpreted. They will also explore character histories

4) INTERPRETATING VOICE AND DIALOGUE:
The aim of this unit is to encourage pupils to think about ways of experimenting with their approach to interpreting text. They will be looking to improve their understanding of how to present a script in performance by looking at all aspects of voice and dialogue.

5) BRECHT:
The aim of this unit is to consider the skills required to present documentary style theatre. Students will look at the techniques used by Brecht in performance. This unit will also have a chance to use ICT in rehearsal and performance.

6) BIG TEENS:
The aim of this unit is to use the medium of reality TV to recap on the skills learnt in their three years of drama. This is meant to aid those who are going on to take GCSE to consolidate their learning. However, this scheme is also meant to be a fun end for their time in drama for those who have not chosen it as an option.

KS4

WHY DRAMA?
Drama GCSE is for those students who love EVERYTHING about drama and performance. Students will have regular opportunities to perform and learn about the performance process.

Students will also be learning about important practioners and various techniques used in theatre.

WHAT WILL YOU STUDY GCSE DRAMA 
The course starts with a quick introduction to drama GCSE. This module is designed to re-cap on all the techniques and skills used in KS3 which will be used in the GCSE. It will give students the opportunity to be involved in their first performance and understand the rehearsal process as some students may not have performed to a large audience before now.

Your exam is broken up into 60% coursework and 40% performance. Your first piece of course work is based on mask work which is geared at improving students body language and expression in performance. The second piece of coursework is a scripted piece by Willy Russell’s called Blood Brothers. The final exam is a performance to an external moderator which students can either do a scripted piece or devise their own work.

In year 10 GCSE students complete their first coursework based on mask. They are required to look at modern performance mask and traditional masks from around the world. This scheme of work is aimed at building students confidence in performance and enhancing their understanding of communication through body language and gesture. Students complete written work and performance work.

GCSE PERFORMANCE OF THE SCROOGE AT THE XMAS SHOW

The Drama Club runs on Thursdays after school 2.45 to 3.45pm for students in years 7, 8 and 9. It is a chance for students who are keen on drama to develop their skills and gain more performance experience. It is also intended to help those of us who would like to gain more confidence or even those who just want to meet more people.

Drama club performance of THE GRINCH at the Xmas show.