Drama
The drama GCSE course offers plenty of choice and opportunities to create your own performance work using ideas and issues that you are passionate about. It is a practical, enjoyable course that will challenge you to develop imaginative performing and/or design skills, share your own original ideas, and commit to your group’s work and rehearsals.
Drama GCSE not only develops your practical creative skills but also encourages the development of self-confidence, teamwork, leadership, independent thinking skills, analysis and evaluation. These are skills that you will need for the rest of your life.
Our Drama Studio at Upper School, equipped with full blackout and sound-proofing, a comprehensive sound system and a multi-channel lighting rig, gives you excellent technical provision in order to realise your performances to the highest possible standards.
The practical component (60%)
There are two practical components to the course.
Devising drama (practical) (worth 40%)
What's assessed:
- Performance of your own original piece of theatre. (You will work in a group as a performer or designer)
- How you worked in rehearsals to create your performance. This is assessed through a piece of coursework. This can be written or recorded as an audio/visual file.
Texts in practice (practical) (worth 20%)
What's assessed:
- Performance of two extracts from one play chosen by you with advice from your teachers.
- (You will work in a group as a performer or a designer)
The written component (40%)
Written exam: 1hr 45 mins marked by AQA
You will explore, practically, one play, and see and review a live theatre production, All written work will be about how you would perform the play. In class, you will try out and make decisions about staging, acting, designing and directing the play. The written examination will take place at the end of Year 11.
What's assessed
- Knowledge and understanding of drama and theatre
- Exploration of one play
- Analysis and evaluation of a Live Theatre performance
Activities throughout the two years to enrich and support your course:
- Theatre trips
- Workshops with visiting theatre practitioners
- The Crucible Theatre participation project— workshop and performance of your own devised play at The Crucible Theatre.
Assessment
Written Exam: 40% of GCSE
1 hour and 45 minutes. Open book, meaning that you can take the play text into the exam.
Practical Components: 60% of GCSE
Devised Performance and Devising Log: 40% of GCSE.
Marked in school and moderated by AQA.
Texts in practice: performance of extracts from a play: 20% of GCSE.
Marked by visiting examiner from AQA, after watching your performance live.
Click on the video below for more information.
