"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players"
As You Like It by William Shakespeare
Drama at Holy Family is an innovative, dynamic and relatively new subject. GCSE Drama has been offered to students for several years now, the subject consistently grows in popularity demonstrating not only how much students enjoy Drama but that they find it a meaningful and useful GCSE to develop their skills for the world of work. In September 2009 we introduced KS3 Drama which has been very successful. The KS3 Drama curriculum has been devised to focus on skills, whilst also looking at the techniques, historical and cultural context and the practical applications of drama. Drama helps students develop a vast array of transferable skills including: communication skills, independent thinking, creativity and problem solving.
A summary of the KS3 and GCSE KS4 courses are below.
Introduction to Year 7
• The projects in Year 7 introduce some key concepts in drama. They are designed to set a foundation for development and progression during the rest of KS3. In this resource, it is assumed that the students have had little experience of drama before Year 7.
Introduction to Year 8
• The projects in Year 8 are aimed at continuing to develop the key concepts in drama, and building on skills in making and performing drama.
Introduction to Year 9
• The projects in Year 9 provide a bridge between Key Stages 3 and 4, and emphasise making, performing and responding to material. During Year 9, there are ample opportunities for students to participate in performance.
GCSE Edexcel Drama
Year 10
• The projects in Year 10 develop the Drama skills required for the GCSE exam. This involves both practical exploration and written documentation of learning. We also seek to challenge students perceptions of Drama and the Arts by exposing students to innovative forms through visits to the Theatre and explorations in class.
Year 11
This year is dedicated to the GCSE exams.
• Both Unit 1 and Unit 2 are worth 30% of the final GCSE and are internal exams marked by the Drama teacher at HFCS and moderated by Edexcel. These exams take the form of a 6 hour workshop and a documentary portfolio on the workshop. Unit 1explores the theme of War and Unit 2 explores the play Blood Brothers by Willy Russell.
• Unit 3 is worth 40% and is an external exam. This means an examiner visits us from Edexcel on the exam day and marks students performance. Unit 3 requires pupils to either: devise their own play, perform a section of an existing play or adapt an existing play for performance. There is also an option of being marked on an aspect of stage production such as sound, lighting, costume etc. Unit 3 is a practical exam and there is no written component.
Extra Curricular Drama
Holy Family will take part in the Shakespeare School’s Festival 2010 in Bradford where we will perform Romeo and Juliet. Auditions have taken place and a new Theatre company has been established, SPARK. SPARK will perform Romeo and Juliet alongside other Bradford schools and is a fantastic introduction to the work of the world’s most famous playwright.
We hope this activity will be an annual event for HFCS as the standard and interest this year was overwhelming.