Drama

Key Stage 3

At Nicholas Breakspear, Drama aims to engage, inspire, and empower students to develop a lifelong appreciation of performance and storytelling. Through creative exploration and practical work, students build confidence, communication, and teamwork skills, allowing them to express themselves with clarity and empathy.

As students' progress through Key Stage 3, they begin to develop a critical understanding of performance and the processes behind creating theatre. Lessons encourage students to reflect on character motivations, social contexts, and emotional perspectives—helping them to become more empathetic and socially aware individuals.

Drama at this stage also lays the foundations for GCSE study, introducing key theatrical concepts, performance techniques, and evaluative skills that enable students to analyse and create with purpose and precision.

In line with the National Curriculum, Drama at Nicholas Breakspear aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Learn and apply role-play and other drama techniques to explore character, situation, and emotion, building empathy and understanding of others.

• Develop communication, leadership, and collaborative skills essential for both performance and wider life.

• Use drama and improvisation to generate, organise, and express ideas—strengthening their writing, speaking, and listening skills.

• Gain confidence in performing to different audiences, adapting tone, gesture, and language to suit purpose and context.

• Engage critically with texts and performance, building the analytical and reflective skills required for GCSE Drama and beyond.

• Explore language and meaning through rehearsal and performance, deepening their appreciation of how words and actions convey emotion and intent.

Key Stage 4

In years 10 and 11 Students study with the exam board OCR. The topics that covered are:

• Devising Drama
• Presenting Play Scripts
• Reviewing Live Theatre
• Performance and response

The written exam consists of an exam paper lasting 1 hour 30 minutes worth 40% of the overall grade.

For further information regarding the specification and example exams please follow the link:

http://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/242630-specification-accredited-gcse-drama-j316.pdf

Key Stage 5

Drama advanced level is not only for students who wish to pursue a career on stage or behind stage.The course offers opportunities for students to develop their transferable and interpersonal skills. 

Component 1: Theatre Workshop (20%)

Students will be assessed on either acting or design. Students participate in the creation, development and performance piece of theatre based on a reinterpretation of an extract from a text chosen from a list supplied. Along with this performance the students will produce a realisation of the performance or design and a creative log

Component 2: Text in Action (40%)

Students will be assessed on either acting or design. Students participate in the creation, development and of two pieces of theatre based on a stimulus supplied:

1.    Devised – using the techniques and working methods of either an influential practitioner or a
    recognised theatre company (different practitioner from Component 1)

2.    An extract from a text in a different style chosen by the learner

Component 3: Text in Performance (40%)

Section A & B – This section is a written exam.
Two questions based on two different texts, one written pre 1965 and one written post 1956.

Section C – The question is based on the specific extract from The Curioys Incident of the Dog in the Night – Time, Mark Haddon, adapted by Simon Stephens.