https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/drama/gcse/drama-8261/specification-at-a-glance
By opting for Drama GCSE, students will develop their personal communication skills, collaborate with others, think analytically and evaluate theatre. They will gain the confidence to pursue their own theatrical ventures and are given time to reflect and refine their efforts to create the best outcomes. Whatever the future holds, students of GCSE Drama emerge with a toolkit of transferable skills, applicable to both their personal and professional lives.
The course offers practical experience of a range of performance methods, genre, styles and topics. Through discussion and application students also further their emotional and spiritual understanding through issue based projects, the performance of scripted text and responding to recorded live theatre. After all, as Oscar Wilde once said theatre is ‘the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
Choosing drama will be a challenge but it will also be fun and rewarding.
- Students will make new friends
- Build their self esteem
- Hear the applause of the audience
- Learn about life and the world around them in a way that is different from their other subjects
GCSE Drama Assessment Breakdown
40% Written Examination
Component 1 is a 1hr 45mins external exam that explores theatre vocabulary, roles and responsibilities. (4 marks) Students must answer four questions on the set text which is ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell (36 marks). Students will also need to answer a further question on a theatre performance that they have seen over the course (40 marks)
60% Coursework
Component 2 and 3 make up the coursework. Students will be required to devise their own original piece of theatre based on research and investigation (40%) and they will also explore a play text that will allow them to present two contrasting extracts to a visiting examiner. All practical work and development tasks are modelled and continually assessed throughout the course with all final assessments taking place in Year 11.
Curriculum Content of each academic year
Year 9 | |
Course | Content |
Drama | Inspirational Speeches Romeo and Juliet Brainstorm – Being a Teenager Oedipus by Sophocles The Odyssey by Hattie Taylor Splendid Productions -Theatre analysis and evaluation- |
How its assessed: | Performance Theatre Review |
Year 10 | |
Course/ Exam Board | Content |
Drama GCSE/AQA | Community Play Theatre Practitioners -Stan, Brecht and Artaud- Comp 2 – Devising Drama Blood Brothers by Willy Russell Comp 3 – Texts in Practice (Grimms Fairy Tales) |
How its assessed: | Devising Log Practice Exam Questions Summer Written Exam Devised and Scripted Performances |
Year 11 | |
Course/ Exam Board | Content |
Drama GCSE/AQA | Comp 2 – Devising Drama (Final) 40% Comp 1 – Revising Blood Brothers 40% Theatre Performance Analysis Comp 3 – Text in Practice (Final) 20% |
How its assessed: | Devising Log Practice Exam Questions Summer Written Exam Devised and Scripted Performances |
Year 12 | |
Course/ Exam Board | Content |
Drama and Theatre A level/AQA | Greek Theatre Brecht and the Caucasian Chalk Circle Devising Mock Berkoff and Metamorphosis The Modern Monologue The Paper Birds/Verbatim as Practitioners |
How its assessed: | Devised and Scripted Performance Practice Questions Working Note Book Summer Written Exam |
Year 13 | |
Course/ Exam Board | Content |
Drama and Theatre A level/AQA | Comp 2 – Devised Performance and Working Note Book (Final) 30% Comp 3 – Texts and Practitioners – -Brook & Mitchell – (Final) 30% Comp 1 – Revision of Chalk Circle, Metamorphosis and Streamed Theatre (Final) 40% |
How its assessed: | Written Exam (3 hours) Devised Performance Scripted Performance Working Note Book (C2: 3000 words) Reflective Report (C3: 3000 words) |
Careers in Drama and Theatre
An Arts Education can give students access to employment in the creative industries; an area of the UK economy that in 2018 was valued at over £111 billion and according to Gov.Uk ‘flies the flag for Britain’ and is the ‘heart of the economy’. This is up 7.4 per cent on the previous year, meaning growth in the sector is more than five times larger than growth across the UK economy as a whole, which increased by 1.4 per cent. Quite clearly the pandemic has affected its current status but it will rise again.
The skill-set that students develop by studying Drama, in particular, are relevant to jobs within the theatre such as acting, directing, stage and event management, script writing and technical theatre. However graduates of drama and theatre may also take up careers in the following sectors:
- Education;
- Commercial and public sector management;
- Social/Welfare;
- Marketing/sales/advertising;
- Business/financial.
The development of life-skills in a forever changing job market will open the doors to a myriad of careers. The skills studied in drama will made a big difference. To name but a few; confidence; presentation; collaboration; time management and organisational skills; self-awareness; self-discipline; an open mind and the ability to move beyond boundaries and experiment with different ideas; communication skills; analytical, critical and research skills; the ability to cope with criticism and learn from it; stamina … all have value in developing character and workability traits. Check out https://scudd.org.uk/prospective-students/drama-and-employability/
Labour Market Information – LMI
It is useful to look at the labour market when considering a career in Drama and Theatre. This sector is a growth area in terms of employment opportunities by 1.9% for actors, entertainers, presenters, arts officers, producers and directors.
The LMI for All portal provides high quality, reliable LMI information – see link below: https://www.lmiforall.org.uk/
Examples of Some Learning Pathways
Planning on going to University? There are many universities that study drama and theatre, in fact there are 72 universities that offer 347 courses for Undergraduate Drama Studies degrees. https://www.whatuni.com/degree-courses/search?subject=drama-studies
To become an actor many students go to a Drama School to do their training, where you will also network with similar individuals, build contacts, attract agents and develop your acting experience. It remains a highly competitive route but if you have the passion then worth choosing this path. https://www.stagemilk.com/best-drama-schools-uk/
Alternatively, research your area of interest e.g. if you wanted to become a drama therapist then you would complete a drama degree and then do a post-graduate course in Drama Therapy.
Or even, you might like to work in a creative company like the BBC in which you could apply for an apprenticeship. Check out this opportunity to become a trainee production assistant? (Jan 2022 deadline) https://www.bbc.co.uk/careers/trainee-schemes-and-apprenticeships/trainee-schemes/production-trainee-scheme
The choices are exciting and limitless. The prospects of an enjoyable career, doing something you love is out there. https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/drama https://studylink.com/study/pathways/drama