Aim

The Year 8 Drama course builds on what students have learnt in Year 7 and is designed to develop skills of dramatic exploration, interpretation and creation with a particular focus on improvisation, rehearsal strategies and performance. The Year 8 course is a preparation for the GCSE course, so that all students have an idea of GCSE work, and a grounding in the skills needed, before they choose their Key Stage 4 options.

Topics covered

During the course, students will experience: 

• Preparation and exploration of extracts from plays
• Devising from a range of stimuli: poetry, music, art, newspaper articles, photographs, historical events
• Physical theatre, sound collage and choral work
• Epic theatre and realism
• Peer assessment and evaluation
• Use of different staging forms such as thrust, in the round, traverse
• Use of stage lighting, sound effects and music in performance

Teaching groups

There is no tiering or setting. Working groups in lessons are initially self-selecting and then shaped by teachers to ensure a mix of skills and to foster the widest possible collaboration.

Assessment

Assessment is continuous and ongoing as students are assessed on the work they do in class, on different performances and on evaluation and analysis of their own practical work.

How to support at home

• Discussing your child's drama work will allow students to explain – and to show off – their imaginative and analytical skills. This conversation with a potential ‘audience’ will help to refine these ideas. It is often the case that students who do not feel a measure of personal success, involvement or ownership in some lessons can feel these things in Drama
• Going to the Theatre, experiencing the joy and excitement of live theatre, will inspire and entertain students (and parents/carers)
• Encourage your child to get involved in the Year 8 Drama Club in the Autumn term and the School play in the Spring and Summer term