Curriculum

Key Stage 3

The Northern Ireland Curriculum aims to empower pupils to achieve their potential and to make informed and responsible choices and decisions throughout their lives. It is about helping all pupils prepare for life and work:

as individuals;

as contributors to society;

as contributors to the economy and environment.

Why drama in schools?

The arts make us feel connected to one another and less isolated. Through the arts we share an emotion and that sharing connects us with each other and we realise we all feel the same emotions. The arts are our last hope. We find our identity and make it easier and more pleasurable to live and they also give us wisdom. We see our problems acted out and it’s an important socialising force.

Arthur Miller (playwright and director)

Drama in St. Paul’s High School

Drama is artistic, a practical activity and an intellectual discipline. Drama education, which begins naturally with learning through dramatic play, will eventually include many elements of theatre. Like the other arts, it involves imagination and feelings and helps us to make sense of the world. It does this through the creation of imagined characters and situations, and the relationships and events that they encounter.

Through engagement in drama, pupils apply their imaginations and draw upon their own personal experiences. Their increasing knowledge and understanding of how the elements of drama work enables them to effectively shape, express and share their ideas, feelings and responses, making use of language, space, symbol, allegory and metaphor. Good drama teaching will result in pupils learning about dramatic form and the content it explores.

It is important that schemes of work provided in St. Paul’s High School provide a clear framework for pupils’ progression and that they integrate with whole school assessment practices to help students achieve the highest possible standards in drama.

The study of Drama in St. Paul’s High School is enhanced by the use of ICT as an integral part of the Schemes of Work.  The Revised Curriculum has provided for self-management, effective communication using ICT and the effective working with others.

Drama schemes of work are differentiated to take account of pupils’ differing abilities. They also take account of examination requirements.

Students are not formally assessed at Key Stage Three, they do, however complete Assessment Requirements in line with school policy.

GCSE

G.C.S.E. Drama (AQA Specification) covers a wide range of performance and related skills.

The course content allows students to realise their full potential in many areas.  The course contains engaging content and is manageable for St. Paul’s High School.  The course is accessible to students of all levels of ability and leads to accurate results.

Students can develop an insight into and an understanding of a wide range of activities. Drama is an exciting, creative and challenging course and has been designed to help candidates meet those challenges.

The balance between the assessment tasks and the written examination gives Students the best opportunity to succeed.

In order to allow more freedom of choice, the requirement for candidates to present some performance work has now been lifted.

Candidates are free to choose any of the controlled assessment options offered in our specification.

These include: Devised Thematic Work, Acting, Improvisation, Theatre in Education, Physical Theatre, Set Design, Costume, Make-up, Properties, Masks, Puppets, Lighting, Sound, Stage Management.

The written part of the controlled assessment has now been removed. Assessment for the controlled assessment takes into account the student’s contribution during the preparation period as well as their final performance or design.

Department Staff

Ms P Lynch HOD

Ms R Patton