“Theatre is the art of looking at ourselves” Augusto Boal

Drama is proven to build confidence, encourage cooperation, to develop skills in problem solving, time management and teamwork. Most importantly, it encourages students to be creative, to think outside the box, to express themselves and learn in a way that is different to the traditional classroom environment.

At Bridgewater School, our Drama department has fantastic facilities for students including a state-of-the-art Drama Studio with fully functioning lighting desk and sound system. We also have a fantastic network of local theatres with whom we have established long-standing connections and who we work with closely. We also subscribe to Digital Theatre +, an outstanding online platform which gives students access to the best quality theatre and a plethora of complementary resources.

The Drama curriculum at Bridgewater is varied, vibrant and exciting. In Year 7 we begin with an introduction to the history of drama and theatre and basic drama skills including concentration, cooperation and imagination. we then develop vocal skills when students create their own radio plays. This is followed by various topics such as Physical Theatre, Improvisation and Script Work (The Demon Headmaster). Students in Year 7 can expect most of their lessons to be practical and for this to be underpinned by fortnightly homework which links to the work in class.

In Year 8, students begin by practically exploring The Red Shoes, a graphic novel covering the themes of prejudice, stereotype and inequality. This is followed by schemes of work on Macbeth, Stage Combat and we finish off the year studying the different production elements in theatre including costume, set design, lighting and sound. In Year 8 we introduce a little more theory but practical work remains the main approach to learning.

In Year 9 students begin to explore some practical and theoretical aspects of the Drama GCSE and we start the year looking at key features of the GCSE set text, Blood Brothers. Students are also introduced to key theatre practitioners including Stanislavski, Brecht and more contemporary theatre  companies such as Frantic Assembly. Through this approach students develop a deeper understanding of how to work with text as well as having the opportunity to develop their devising skills by creating their own pieces of theatre based on a stimulus.

GCSE Drama

The Key Stage 3 curriculum is tailored specifically to prepare students who choose to continue study of Drama at GCSE. We follow the AQA GCSE Drama Specification which is studied for two years during Year 10 and 11. The GCSE consists of 3 major components:

• Component 1 is a written exam which is based on the set text, live theatre review and theatre roles and terminology
• Component 2 is a devised piece of theatre which the students make from scratch and in response to a chosen stimulus
• Component 3 is the study and realisation of two scripted extracts from one chosen play.

Download GCSE Drama information sheet>