Saint Martin’s Drama curriculum for KS3 takes our students from the origins of theatre in ancient Greece and Rome to the morality plays of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the golden age of Elizabethan theatre. Our chronological approach from Year 7 to 9 ensures that students have a thorough grounding in drama before GCSE study begins. From the first lesson of the GCSE course, students will learn about the development of theatre over time, its rich history, and the influence of the practitioners of the past on modern theatre and practice. They will learn about Shakespeare’s world and experiment with dramatic conventions of the Jacobean period before moving on to study and explore, through practical approaches, the theatre of the 19th century, the Theatre of Ideas, and the advent of modern theatre that often railed against both the conventions of the past and the political and social oppression at the time of writing.
Drama is all too often side-lined, pigeonholed as a purely practical subject that lacks academic rigour, yet alongside the many opportunities for creativity and experimentation with theatrical styles, forms and techniques through the ages, sits detailed and robust exploration of performance texts (such as The Lord of the Flies and An Inspector Calls) that perfectly complement the study of English and English Literature GCSE’s.
Year 7 – Greek theatre, Roman theatre, Medieval theatre
Year 8 -Renaissance theatre, Restoration theatre
Year 9 -Stanislavski and Naturalism, Brecht and Epic theatre, Physical theatre
Year 10 + 11
Component 1, Devising: Having studied the conventions, forms, styles of theatre through time and developed their use of performance skills, students will be armed with the knowledge and expertise to develop their own devised performance. The process and evolution of the piece will be documented in individual portfolios that will be marked by teachers and moderated by examiners.
Component 2, Performance from a Text: Students will perform two key extracts from The Lord of the Flies (a theatrical adaptation of Golding’s novel, and one to which he gave his seal of approval). Performances will be assessed by an external examiner.
Component 3, Theatre Makers in Practice: For this component, students first study An Inspector Calls through the lens of a performer, designer, and director before moving on to watch and evaluate a live theatre performance. Both elements are assessed through a final written exam in Year 11.
Improvisation club (lunchtimes)
Public speaking society
Year 11 intervention
