Hire our facilities >>

Click here to access Arbor Parent Portal

Drama

The importance of drama

One of the key purposes of Drama is to develop student’s in a wholistic way. Firstly we look to give them essential life skills that they can take into all other subject areas of the Academy, and importantly into the wider world, both during and after their time at our Academy. Various areas of work such as technology, law and even medicine and leaning more personal learning skills that are used in every drama lesson such as empathy, collaboration and problem solving, just to name a few. Students skills in critical thinking, communication and creativity are a cornerstone of what we do regularly in lessons and these will be vital skills as they get older.

The skills and techniques needed for KS4 study have been identified and our curriculum prepares learner’s ahead of this so that they explore vital concepts in KS3 study. Students explore different genres and practitioners through devising in a guided fashion so they are then able to use these skills in a more independent and creative way, like a useful toolbelt at their disposal. They also look at the fundamental skills needed for take a script “from page to stage” by learning about blocking, characterisation and intention to stage an extract in line with the author’s intentions.

We are always looking at ways to broaden a student’s Cultural Capital by broadening their horizons of what they understand performance to look like. This can be making connections through what they have explored in lesson and have seen themselves in their personal lives and in popular media. The curriculum is designed for students to make links with performances they are already aware of, but also to introduce them to content they may otherwise not engage with initially. Extra-curricular activities and trips also add to this, and through our links to establishments such as the Birmingham Hippodrome, students are provided with a variety of enrichment opportunities such as trips to the theatre, visiting practitioners to the Academy and involvement in performance projects both at the Academy and the professional performance spaces at the theatre also. Wherever possible, we look to take students further afield also to see performances and previous destinations have included theatre trips to Oxford and London.

Key Stage 3 Drama

Drama is integrated into the Literacy for Life curriculum that students follow in Years 7, 8 and 9.

Click here to see how and where Drama is integrated into this curriculum.

In addition to Drama within Literacy for Life, all students take part in discreet Drama lessons. 

In Years 7 and 8, Drama lessons are delivered on rotation with Music, Art and Design Technology with groups receiving a one hour lesson per week for one term. 

In Year 9, students will complete two terms in each subject of Art, Drama and Music. For the Drama topics, each one is a moveable component as they centre around different skill sets. All students will complete the same content over the course of each year, whenever they fall in the rotation.

Students study practical drama in our purpose-built theatre or studio.

Key Stage 3 Curriculum Overview

Year 

Rotation 1 

Rotation 1 

Rotation 2 

Rotation 2 

 

 

7 

Essential Skills 

Students explore vital skills that they will need in both devising and scripted work including Still Image, Mime, and an introduction into Physical Theatre

Scripted Performance – Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations 

Students begin working with script to explore the fundamental skills needed for it.

Supernatural Shakespeare 

A variety of scripts are explored that all have supernatural elements to them, including The Tempest and Macbeth. Students develop their skills from this term to find creative ways to present the original Shakespeare text, as well being introduced to more sophisticated texts.

 

 

8 

Practitioners 

Students explore significant Directors and theatre makers to begun understanding different styles and genres of Drama.

Bang Out of Order 

A piece regularly used in Theatre in Education, students use a script to explore social issues through Drama.

Commedia Dell’Arte 

Students practice their physical comedy skills by studying this classic Comedy style that has influenced modern work.

Visual Theatre 

This topic focuses on how we communicate story and meaning with less of a focus on words and more on physicality.

 

 

9 

Storytelling 

Students focus on the skill of narration and how we make this more engaging as well as structuring devices for their performances.

Physical Theatre – Frantic Assembly 

 Students use the theatre company’s devising methods to create physical theatre pieces and then apply it to an existing play from their repertoire.

Othello 

Students use the play to explore the skill of Stage Combat and how they apply that to script work, while also exploring some of the themes of the play that are still relevant today.

Verbatim Theatre 

Students explore how script work can be made from the words of real people and explore how to stage this more complicated style and material.

 

 

Key Stage 4 Drama

Drama is an option subject that students can select at the end of Year 9 and begin studying in Year 10.

We are currently delivering OCR GCSE Drama to students in Year 10. Find out about this here: GCSE Drama – West Bromwich Collegiate Academy

Year 9 students who opt to take Drama at Key Stage 4 will also follow OCR GCSE Drama.

Year 11 Drama students are completing the Eduqas Tech Award Performing Arts qualification – find out about this here:

Tech Award Drama – West Bromwich Collegiate Academy (wbca.school)

 

Autumn 1 

Autumn 2 

Spring 1 

Spring 2 

Summer 1 

Summer 2 

10  

OCR GCSE Drama 

StyleTasters 

Students explore different practitioners and styles of Drama in a devised and scripted context. This builds on their prior learning and develops their knowledge and skills further.

Art of Devising

Students focus on key components to consider when devising their work including artistic intention, target audience, performance structure and space.

 

Component 01/02 – Devising Drama 

Students respond to stimuli from the exam board and after initial exploration, choose one stimulus to focus on and create a piece of performance based on this. Students explore, develop, rehearse, perform and finally evaluate a piece of performance of their own making. All of this is documented in three stages in a portfolio which is submitted along with their performance, which is marked internally and then moderated by the exam board.

11 

Eduqas Tech Award Performing Arts 

Unit 2 – Creating 

Unit 3 – Performing Arts in Practice 

Course completed 

yEAR 11 CURRICULUM (2025-26)

INTERNAL CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT: COMPLETION OF TASKS 3 AND 4

Students work individually to respond to a brief from the examination board. They will develop an original idea for a performance, including creation of plot, structure and characters, clear artistic intentions and application of production elements. They will need to consider a minimum of two practitioners styles when developing their performance. Each student will plan and lead a series of rehearsals within a group, to create a performance of between 3 – 6 minutes. They will perform their work to an audience and then evaluation the work based on feedback and personal observation. Evidence for this unit must be produced during 10 hours of controlled assessment time.

• To explore and develop original ideas.
• To be able to respond to a brief with clear artistic intentions.
• To be able to apply knowledge and skills to create original work.

• To be able to evaluate their own work, identifying strengths and areas for improvement.

Focus skills – Application of practitioners techniques, artistic intention, page to stage techniques, response to a brief, creating original work, plot, structure, character, rehearsal, evaluation.

INTERNAL CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT: COMPLETION OF TASKS 3 AND 4

Students work individually to respond to a brief from the examination board. They will develop an original idea for a performance, including creation of plot, structure and characters, clear artistic intentions and application of production elements. They will need to consider a minimum of two practitioners styles when developing their performance. Each student will plan and lead a series of rehearsals within a group, to create a performance of between 3 – 6 minutes. They will perform their work to an audience and then evaluation the work based on feedback and personal observation. Evidence for this unit must be produced during 10 hours of controlled assessment time.

• To explore and develop original ideas.
• To be able to respond to a brief with clear artistic intentions.
• To be able to apply knowledge and skills to create original work.

• To be able to evaluate their own work, identifying strengths and areas for improvement.

Focus skills – Application of practitioners techniques, artistic intention, page to stage techniques, response to a brief, creating original work, plot, structure, character, rehearsal, evaluation.

EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT: COMPLETION OF TASKS 4, 5 AND 6

Students will respond to a brief set by the examination board, in which they will be asked to pitch an idea for a performance. They will need to develop an idea, including clear artistic intentions and purpose, and work practically to develop a ‘showcase element’ for their idea (a scene or production design). They will create marketing material for their performance, develop production schedules, and carry out budgeting. They will then pitch their idea to an audience. The videoed pitch will be submitted to the examination board, alongside written coursework. They will then evaluate the effectiveness of their pitch. Evidence submitted must be created during 20 hours of controlled assessment time. There are seven tasks to complete in total. Learners will complete tasks 1, 2 and 3 in Spring 1, tasks 4, 5 and 6 in Spring 2 and task 7 in Summer 1.

• To be able to plan performance work, considering the factors influencing the creation of professional work.
• To be able to create promotional material, including a ‘showcase element’.
• To be able to pitch a performance idea to an audience.

Focus Skills – Careers / Job roles, pitching, promotion, devising, showcase elements, budgeting, production elements, plot, character, theme, purpose, artistic intention, evaluation.

EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT: COMPLETION OF TASK 7

Students will respond to a brief set by the examination board, in which they will be asked to pitch an idea for a performance. They will need to develop an idea, including clear artistic intentions and purpose, and work practically to develop a ‘showcase element’ for their idea (a scene or production design). They will create marketing material for their performance, develop production schedules, and carry out budgeting. They will then pitch their idea to an audience. The videoed pitch will be submitted to the examination board, alongside written coursework. They will then evaluate the effectiveness of their pitch. Evidence submitted must be created during 20 hours of controlled assessment time. There are seven tasks to complete in total. Learners will complete tasks 1, 2 and 3 in Spring 1, tasks 4, 5 and 6 in Spring 2 and task 7 in Summer 1.

• To be able to plan performance work, considering the factors influencing the creation of professional work.
• To be able to create promotional material, including a ‘showcase element’.
• To be able to pitch a performance idea to an audience.

Focus Skills – Careers / Job roles, pitching, promotion, devising, showcase elements, budgeting, production elements, plot, character, theme, purpose, artistic intention, evaluation.

Completion and assessment of Unit 3