Drama and Music
Our ambitious and engaging curriculum is underpinned by the three core pillars of performing, creating and responding. Within Music and Drama students are inspired through an exploration of the history, culture and context of different art forms which immerse students in experiences that are designed to foster a lifelong love of the arts. We aim to grow each individual into confident and articulate performers whilst uncovering and nurturing natural talent.
This means:
- Understanding the building blocks and skills needed to create effective performance work.
- Analysing and evaluating their own work and the work of others.
- Exploring the use of technology within the arts.
- An increasing understanding of performing arts within the real world.
In Drama there is no formal National Curriculum. The offer is informed by research practice within the arts community (such as The Arts Council) whilst ensuring the knowledge and skills required to prepare students for the demands of GCSE and beyond are embedded throughout Key Stage 3.
Within each academic year, students will be expected to engage with a script project which requires them to secure dialogue, interpret text and perform to an audience. The length, complexity and issues explored increase in challenge with each year. Alongside this, students will learn about how theatre has changed through time, exploring social, cultural, and historical influences and learning key conventions of each era. Students will grow their creativity through a stimulus led practical project which
encourages increased ownership and critical engagement with the art form. Students deliberately revisit these fundamental elements of theatre each year in order to gain confidence, develop depth and perform with increasing discrimination.
These fundamental skills are further enhanced at Key Stage Four through using the AQA GCSE Drama specification as a springboard to a deeper study of the art form. Together with completing the three components (Text in Practice, Devising Drama and Understanding Drama), students have the opportunity to grow a more comprehensive understanding of all aspects of the world of theatre including lighting, costume, set design and various styles and genres.
A shared thread is interwoven through the Drama and Music curricula designed to expose students to key themes which underpin both art forms. The curriculum in Music recognises the National Curriculum and has at its core the requirement for students to develop instrumental performance skills, the ability to critically appraise or engage with music and nurture their confidence in creating musical responses.
Across the curriculum, students will explore a range of different instruments including Keyboards, African Drums, Guitars, Bass Guitars and use of their voice. As students progress through Key Stage 3, they will self-select an instrumental strand that best suits their ability and personal interests utilising this as a vehicle for understanding different musical genres, styles and the conventions associated with each. Running throughout the curriculum is the ambition for students to handle music using staff notation and/or other notational forms specific to each instrument (Tablature, drum notation). The aim is to develop musical excellence in a specific instrument.
Key Stage 3 offers students a foundation of musical elements such as melody, rhythm, harmony and structures. These subjects are explored through exposure to a range of different musical genres, styles and contexts from world music such as African Drumming through to Music for Stage and Screen. Key elements are interleaved throughout different topic areas to deepen student’s critical engagement and discrimination. This is then expanded at Key Stage Four through study of the Edexcel GCSE Music specification. Students build on their ability to critically appraise a wide range of different musical styles whilst developing their performance and compositional work to a higher level.
Alongside the core arts curriculum students will have the opportunity to experience the world of theatre through school trips and extracurricular events. They will value the collaborative approach essential in the arts through public performances. The performances will encompass the annual Carol Service which reflects the school ethos and values through collective worship and performance evenings throughout KS3 and KS4. Opportunities will be tailored to the different cohorts.