Drama helps students to develop a range of skills that are useful for a wide range of future study and career options. It is not simply a course for aspiring actors or even those intending to study the subject in the IBDP or at university, though it certainly provides an excellent foundation for this. Drama allows students to develop skills of presentation, collaboration, communication and creative problem solving. These skills are transferable to other areas while also being essentially important in the study of Drama itself. Every student has a unique voice and Drama helps to bring out the best expression of that voice.

Drama offers a different approach to developing confidence and communication skills. Drama can help with future employment prospects. The skills learnt are as useful to the business person, the teacher and the lawyer, as they are to the performer. The challenges that will be faced by businesses and entrepreneurs in the future cannot be accurately predicted today – those who are able to creatively solve the problems that arise in the future will be in a better position to be successful in our ever-changing world.

The key areas are: creating original work from a given starting point; creating performances from text; writing about the practical exploration of performance texts and evaluating live theatre. The course explores various ideas and different means of presenting them effectively. By adopting roles and improvising situations, students gain a new and original understanding of the topics under exploration and develop skills of initiative and teamwork. Students explore significant play texts and create their own performances. They also complete a portfolio of evidence recording and analysing the process of devising original work. In addition, there is an emphasis on the techniques and practice of theatre and many students begin to engage with the technical and design aspects.

The course aims to:

• develop confident communicators who can work with imagination and initiative as individuals and as part of a team. Students develop an innovative approach to solving problems of structure and communication

• help students attain the self-discipline and performance skills to enable them to present their ideas in a fully formed and sophisticated performance

• encourage students to present their written responses and evaluation in a creative and effective manner

• promote collaboration and compromise and develop interpersonal skills

Successful completion of this course leads to the Pearson Edexcel qualification GCSE, Drama (9-1), (1DR0).

Paper 1: coursework (internal) – 40%

• a performance of an original piece of performance; students can work in role as performer or designer

• analysis and evaluation of the process and performance

Paper 2: coursework (external) – 20%

• staging a performance of two extracts of a play text; students can work in role as a performer or a designer

• students are assessed on their performance or design outcome

Paper 3: written examination (external) – 40%

• students practically explore and study a complete performance text; students view and evaluate a live theatre performance

• following these experiences, students sit a 1 hour 30 minutes written examination

For details of the GCSE Drama syllabus, click here.