Curriculum
Welcome to Drama! Drama is a thriving subject at Forest Hill School, with many opportunities for students to express their creativity both in lessons and after school. Drama is a fantastic opportunity for students to develop their inter-personal skills through collaboration with others, to explore their own imaginative responses, to tackle issues in today’s society and to develop confidence through discussion and performance. Every student can succeed in Drama with confidence, creativity and cooperation.
Drama
Courses
KS3
At Key Stage Three, our motto is Serious Fun. We hope every student enjoys Drama but more importantly we want every student to achieve. In Year 7, students learn the drama techniques that form the basis of all future performances, including Still Image, Narration, Role-Play, Thought-Tracking and Physical Theatre. In Year 8, we learn more sophisticated techniques and learn how to implement them on our own. We also expand our cultural awareness by exploring drama from around the world. In Year 9, when we are aiming to achieve our end of Key Stage Target Level, we begin to prepare for GCSE Drama by tackling social issues and by introducing more challenging theatre forms.
KS4
Drama is a popular subject at GCSE and achieves very good results. We study the EdExcel specification and although there is no written exam, we produce 6,000 words of coursework which analyses the work done in class and also create our own piece of devised theatre which is performed to an examiner and an invited audience. We examine a range of plays, including The Odyssey and The Pillowman and explore important issues in society, including school shootings and depression.
KS5
BTEC National Award in Performing Arts (Acting) is the Level 3 course offered by the Drama Department. We complete modular units, which closely replicate what life is like for a professional actor, giving us the skills we need to make it in the theatre industry. Units include Acting Auditions, Theatre-in-Education, Performing for an Audience and Contemporary Theatre. To complement our studies we regularly attend professional theatre and participate in many public performances.
Extra Curricular – Clubs Trips etc.
Every year in Drama we stage a number of theatre productions, including a whole-school musical and a straight play. Look out for details of auditions advertised around the school or speak to your Drama Teacher for more details. We also run a Drama Club with Sydenham Girls for gifted Year 8 students. This year, our theatre company Collaborative Adventures are working on a devised performance. We regularly run trips to many London theatres and take part in projects with the Shakespeare Schools Festival, the Young Vic and National Theatre, amongst others.