Drama (Key Stage 3)
Intent
Our Drama curriculum is engaging and challenging, the curriculum links to the texts we study in English. We aim to promote a range of diverse performance skills that will support our creative learners. Students will also learn how to develop their own voice, focus on movement, positioning and expression.
Furthermore, the links to our English curriculum aim to provide a wealth of opportunities to explore a cultural and diverse curriculum with a purposed aim and audience.
Students will be able to read, interpret and infer, establishing their own impressions and opinions. We want our students to be able to nurture critical thinking, widening their perspectives and uncovering both explicit and implicit meanings.
We have developed a ‘spiral curriculum’ where core knowledge is carefully mapped to ensure it is regularly revised and returned to so that students can apply them in new contexts and thus deepen and refine their understanding of the world around them.
Year 7
Focus
| Autumn | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|
| Oliver Twist In conjunction with the study of Oliver Twist in English, students will have Drama in Y7 once a week which will provide them with the opportunity to focus on their understanding of characterisation and context linked to this literary heritage text. Students will explore tone, movement and gesture to establish understanding of the characterisation of characters. | Heroes and Villains of Shakespeare’s Theatre In English, students will be exploring A Midsummer Night’s dream and so our drama lesson will take the form of exploring the roles of heroes and villains in Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre. Linking this with context and an exploration of gender roles, religious reasoning and issues surrounding racism this ambitious curriculum aims to provide learners with an appreciation of how characters are formed and how the context of the day lead to a breadth of diverse characters from all walks of life. There is specific focus on characters such as Shylock, Othello, Miranda and Juliet as some of the archetypal characters in drama. | Performance poetry – Slam poetry Whilst students explore the use of poetry and metaphor in their English curriculum, alongside this runs our drama curriculum which affords students the opportunity to explore the world of Slam poetry. This diverse, multicultural and contemporary form of performance focuses on the exploration of movement, tone, expressions, sound, rhythm and rhyme. Students will consider a range of poets includingAshia Ajani, Tolu Obiwole, Abby Friesen-Johnson, Levi Tafai, Benjamin Zephaniya. |
Year 8
Focus
| Autumn | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|
| Sherlock Holmes – Victorian Crime Genre Sherlock Holmes Victorian Crime Genre drama sessions, facilitated in accordance with the English curriculum allow for a deeper dive into the key concept of genre within the drama curriculum. An opportunity to dive deeper into ideas of context and consideration of Victorian theatre. | Heroes and Villains of Shakespeare’s Theatre In English, students will be exploring The Tempest and so our drama lesson will take the form of exploring the roles of heroes and villains in Elizabethan and Jacobean Theatre. Linking this with context and an exploration of gender roles, religious reasoning and issues surrounding racism. This ambitious curriculum aims to provide learners with an appreciation of how characters are formed and how the context of the day lead to a breadth of diverse characters from all walks of life. There is specific focus on characters such as Shylock, Othello, Miranda and Juliet as some of the archetypal characters in drama. | Animal Farm – Movement and space, Physical Theatre This ambitious text encourages learners to lean into ideas of movement, physical performance and expression. Students take on the roles of key characters in the text. This is explored through and in conjunction with the English curriculum, allowing students to garner an in-depth knowledge from a metaphorical standpoint and to develop an appreciation of movement to support understanding of ideas around characterisation. |
Year 9
Focus
| Autumn | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|
| Small Island Small Island is a fantastic text to explore through drama, with important themes of identity, acceptance and immigration experienced through the roles of key characters from the Windrush generation. The multi perspective narrative provides a platform to explore different opinions, backgrounds and challenges through the drama of hot seating, role on the wall and character Q and As. | Inspirational Women As part of our offer of a diverse, broad and balanced curriculum we will be celebrating the achievements of women in drama with this unit, with the aim of highlighting the importance of women writers of drama and performance-based materials. We consider the intersectionality and diversity of the power of performances by women and written for women, including the works of Maya Angelou. We believe this stand-alone unit, not directly linked to the English curriculum, prepares students for the study of drama at KS4 with its ambitious and diverse themes. | An Inspector Calls As part of our bridge to GCSE unit in the summer term of Y9 and in conjunction with English lessons students will have one drama lesson a week in Y9 focus on the physical staging of the GCSE Text ‘An Inspector Calls’. The drama unit will place emphasis on the physical space used within the play, the staging of the one set play and the use of directions to reveal tone, expressions and characterisation. |
Enrichment Opportunities
- Writing club
- Reading club
- Dungeons and Dragons
- Choir
- Reading for Pleasure
- Drama company
Useful Links/Websites
Oliver Twist: I.E. Chadwick : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Sherlock Holmes – The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) | Starring Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce | HD
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The Oldershaw School
Valkyrie Road, Wallasey
Wirral CH45 4RJ
Valkyrie Road, Wallasey
Wirral CH45 4RJ