Drama

Head of Drama: Miss. C. Squires

Teacher of Drama: Mr. S Borrill (Assistant Headteacher)

Overview:

Drama at Nicholas Breakspear is a thriving subject area that has begun to flourish over the past few years as part of the Expressive Arts faculty which consists of Art, Drama, Music and Media Studies:

Results at both GCSE and Advanced Level are consistently high

Student participation in both examination and extra-curricular drama is very encouraging

The school has been awarded the Artsmark Silver Award

Curriculum:

At KS3, Drama is taught as a discrete subject. At present year 7 students receive one period, whilst in years 8 and 9 students receive two periods of drama per fortnight. The curriculum is predominantly skills based, exploring a variety of forms and techniques throughout KS3. Group sizes are capped at 25.

At GCSE students currently follow the AQA specification. They are put forward for the Improvisation and Acting options. In the future we would like to develop the other specialist options and would value a member of the department who felt they could contribute towards this.

At Advanced Level students follow the EdExcel Drama and Theatre Studies specification. This course has achieved a 100% pass rate since its introduction in 2002, with 80%+ achieving grades A to C.

Extra-curricular: Throughout the year a wide range of extra-curricular and performance work takes place, from large scale whole school ventures to examination showcases to parents. To give a flavour of the work produced please see the following page.

2006:

Zoo Story (Albee) Year 13 Drama & Theatre Studies

Animal Farm (adapted S. Borrill) Main School Production

2007:

Improvisation Showcase Year 11 GCSE Students

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (B. Brecht) Year 12 Drama & Theatre Studies

Remember Forever Fundraising Concert

Twelfth Night (Shakespeare) G&T Shakespeare Schools Festival

Theatre Make-up Course Year 10 Students

24 Hour Expressive Arts-a-thon Charity Event

Oliver! (Bart) Whole School Production

2008:

Improvisation Showcase Year 11 GCSE Students

The Trial (S. Berkoff) Year 12 Drama & Theatre Studies

Much Ado About Nothing (W. Shakespeare) G&T Shakespeare Schools Festival

2009:

GCSE Showcase Year 11 GCSE Students

Metamorphosis (S. Berkoff) Year 12 Drama & Theatre Studies

High School Musical Whole School Production

Souled (S. Borrill adaptation of Dr. Faustus) Whole School Production

2010:

KS4 Showcase Year 11 GCSE Students

The Trial (S.Berkoff)/Light (Complicite) Year 12 Drama & Theatre Studies

KS3 Expressive Arts Showcase Year 7-9 Students

Return to the Forbidden Planet (B. Carlton) Whole School Production

In addition to the above we also help students prepare for auditions (including NYT – 3 students in the last year) and regularly run trips to the theatre. Recent productions seen include Terminus, Electra, Endgame, The Red Shoes, The Trial and Blood Brothers.

Staffing:

There are two full time drama teachers working within the Expressive Arts Faculty which numbers six in total.

Resources:

The main teaching space, The Alex Curtis Studio, is a large versatile space able to accommodate an audience of up to 120. Lighting and sound facilities are limited, but this is an area we are looking to develop. Adjacent to this space is a smaller studio space. There is also a small media editing suite for use by the department.