1. KS4 Drama Creative, Performance and Media Arts
Curriculum Map
KS4 Drama
Creative, Performance and Media Arts

2. Statement of intent Key Stage: KS4 Subject: GCSE Drama
Academic Year:
As well as giving students an understanding and appreciation of the art form, GCSE Drama is a valuable subject for a variety of careers where communication, presentation and team work skills are needed. Direct career paths include: actor, director, script writer, stage manager, sound designer/engineer, drama therapist, lighting designer/technician, theatre historian, drama teacher, theatre critic, journalist, designer or arts administrator, along with a number of additional opportunities which often favour the studies of an art. Some of these include careers such as a solicitor, teacher, writer, social worker, presenter, advertising, marketing, sales, business manager, artist or careers in the media. These thoughts have been notably echoed in recent reports and reviews of Russel Group universities actively encouraging studies of The Arts.
The GCSE course follows the Pearson Edexcel exam board where students are given the opportunity to follow a performance or design pathway depending on their interests and skills. Our staff are highly trained and collectively have a number of notable professional credits working on stage and within the technical and design focused areas of Theatre, Film and Television.
The course is divided into three components and lessons are structured to ensure a variety of practical, written and technical opportunities for development are provided. In Component 1, students will gain experience devising a piece of theatre and will perform this to a target audience. As well as this, students will complete a written portfolio which will give them the opportunity to develop their analytical and evaluative skills. Students will also complete written evaluations of their work through a SharePoint portfolio kept online which teachers and students will have access to in school and in their personal time to promote the benefits of being a reflective learner. In Component 2, students will work with a script which will challenge and support their ability to memorise content, an invaluable skill when studying for any GCSE, and perform two key extracts from the text. If students choose the design route of this course, they will work with state of the art technology and develop the technical elements of a performing group and provide a statement of intent for each performance. These students will also be expected to engage in usual practical activities to ensure they are provided with an extensive skillset with focus on improving their vocal and physical abilities. In Component 3, students will sit a formal, written exam encouraging them to develop and draw upon their written communication skills needed for subjects such as English, History, Religious Studies and more. This exam will inspire students to be as creatively expressive as possible as it asks students to discuss both the practical and design elements of a theatre production, exposing them to a breadth of creative knowledge. As part of this unit we also attend a West End theatre production where students will have the opportunity to see professional stage acting, often involving well-known actors and designers in the cast and crew. In addition to this, we also encourage our alumni who now work in the Creative Industries to run workshops and productions in and out of school which help our students to begin networking within the industry whilst inspiring them through exposure into the opportunities the Canons GCSE Drama course can provide.
We welcome all students in GCSE Drama regardless of experience and pride ourselves on providing a course that nurtures each student based on their needs and interests. We create a community within our classrooms with a supportive atmosphere that helps to build self-esteem and results in a consistently high pass rate with students often exceeding their estimated grades.

3. Curriculum Overview Key Stage: KS4 Subject: Drama
Academic Year:
Year
Unit content
Autumn 1
Autumn 2
Spring 1
Spring 2
Summer 1
Summer 2
GCSE
Component 1: Devising
Students will create and develop one piece of theatre from a stimulus which is provided by the class teacher.
Students will then perform this or justify the design realisation depending on their pathway (see statement of intent for more detail).
Students will also analyse and evaluate the devising process and performance through a written portfolio.
Component 2: Performance from Text
Students will either perform in and/or design for 2 key extracts from a performance text which is provided by the class teacher.
Component 3: Theatre Makers in Practice
Students will complete a written exam which is divided into two sections: A and B.
Section A: Bringing Texts to Life
Practical exploration and study of 1 text provided by the exam board.
Section B: Live Theatre Evaluation
Students will attend a piece of live theatre and evaluate the production.
Assessment
Component 1: 40% of final grade
Students will be assessed against the Edexcel exam specifications on their quality of performance or design realisation depending on their pathway by an internal examination team.
Students will complete an accompanying written portfolio covering the creating and developing process and analysis and evaluation of their devising process. This portfolio has a word count of 2000 words.
Component 2: 20% of final grade
Students will be assessed against the Edexcel exam specifications on their quality of their 2 performances or design realisations depending on their pathway by an external examiner.
Component 3: 40% of final grade
A formal written exam marked externally.
Section A: This section consists of one question broken into six parts (short and extended responses) based on an unseen extract from the chosen performance text. The performance text will be studied in class prior to the exam.
Section B: This section consists of two questions requiring students to analyse and evaluate a live theatre performance they have seen.