Drama

Subject Statement

The Drama department works to enable Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 students at Tunmarsh to build self-confidence, self-esteem, and effective communication skills through their engagement in performance and media creation. We create a supportive, fun, and safe environment for our young people to learn at their own pace, work collaboratively or individually, and express themselves creatively while developing their technical and performance skills.

Key Stage 3 students build essential practical, cognitive, and social skills through foundational drama and media workshops. Their learning in core subjects helps them develop creative storytelling abilities, teamwork, and emotional literacy.

Students in Key Stage 4 will be given the opportunity to gain a BTEC Introductory Award in Performing Arts / Digital Media, focusing on two key practical units: Using Stimulus to Create Theatre and Creating a Short Film. The purpose of this qualification is to help students develop the transferable skills, attributes, and behaviors needed to progress to further study, vocational training, and employment. The qualification requires learners to complete routine, simple, and directed tasks by applying their knowledge, creative ideas, and media skills.

The Introductory Award is designed around practical tasks and hands-on production, enabling students to show what they can do in practice rather than through written exams. As they work through set tasks, students set their own targets and assess their progress. All evidence is gathered into practical portfolios and internally assessed.

Course Outline and Units of Study

Key Stage 3: Foundation Skills

At KS3, students explore a range of drama techniques and digital media fundamentals. They work in groups and independently to build confidence, vocal projection, body language awareness, and basic media literacy.

Key areas of study include:

Introduction to Devising: Using simple stimuli (pictures, soundscapes, stories) to create short scripted and improvised scenes.
Basic Stagecraft & Acting: Role-play, vocal expression, movement, and character development.
Introduction to Digital Media: Storyboarding, shot composition, and basic camera operation.

Key Stage 4: BTEC Units

Drama Unit: Using Stimulus to Create Theatre

Students learn how to take starting stimuli such as images, news headlines, poems, music, or real-life events and transform them into original, devised theatrical pieces.
Practical Activities: Brainstorming themes, improvising scenes, characterisation, stage layout, and performing live or recorded pieces.

Digital Media Unit: Creating a Short Film

Students explore the complete filmmaking workflow, bringing a narrative concept from script to screen.
Practical Activities: Storyboarding, writing short scripts, operating digital cameras, lighting, sound recording, and editing final footage using digital workstations.

Assessment and Feedback

Students receive continuous individual help and verbal feedback on their work, enabling them to explore personal ways forward with their ideas. Students are also encouraged to evaluate their own progress and comment constructively on the work of their classmates.

Each project is assessed against a set of key skills and knowledge appropriate to class activities, following National Curriculum guidelines at KS3 and BTEC assessment criteria at KS4.

There are no written exams. Evidence gathered includes:

Final video recordings of theatre performances and completed short films
Pre-production portfolios (storyboards, scripts, character sheets, shot lists)
Rehearsal logs, video diaries, or podcast reviews evaluating strengths and areas for improvement

How Parents and Carers can Help

Expose students to diverse drama and film: Encourage your child to watch a variety of TV dramas, theatre broadcasts, short films, and documentaries.
Discuss storytelling techniques: Talk about how camera angles, lighting, sound effects, and body language convey emotions and plot twists in films and plays.
Support rehearsal routines: Encourage your child to practice lines, run through scene ideas, or share their story ideas at home.
Promote creative filming: Encourage basic smartphone/tablet photography, framing, or short video editing practice.
Watch behind-the-scenes content: Encourage watching "making-of" featurettes or director commentaries to see how professional media is created.
Encourage creative research: Prompt your child to read scripts, explore stagecraft guides, or look at digital media blogs and tutorials online.

Links to Online Resources

Contact

Performing Arts, Music Drama Lead

Hayley Reinprecht : hayley.reinprecht@prus.newham.sch.uk