Drama curriculum by year
The summaries below set out the main areas of learning in each year, the knowledge and skills pupils will develop, and the intended curriculum end points. They also show how learning builds progressively across the Drama curriculum and prepares pupils for the next stage of their education.
Year 7
Introduction to Drama
What pupils will know and be able to do
- Use voice, body language, posture, gesture and facial expression to communicate meaning.
- Apply basic acting techniques in practical work.
- Use improvisation to explore characters, situations and ideas.
- Perform with increasing confidence in front of others.
- Contribute positively to collaborative activities.
- Reflect on the effectiveness of their own performance.
How this builds on previous learning
This builds on pupils’ experiences of storytelling, role play, speaking and listening during primary education.
How this prepares pupils for future learning
This establishes the confidence, communication and foundational performance skills needed for character work, ensemble performance and script interpretation.
Year 8
Character, Collaboration and Culture
What pupils will know and be able to do
- Create and sustain convincing characters.
- Explore characters’ motivations, relationships and circumstances.
- Make purposeful choices about voice, movement and physical expression.
- Work effectively as part of an ensemble.
- Understand how cultural and historical contexts influence drama.
- Explain how theatre can reflect society and different perspectives.
- Respond constructively to feedback and refine a performance.
How this builds on previous learning
This develops the voice, movement, improvisation and collaborative skills introduced in Year 7.
How this prepares pupils for future learning
This prepares pupils to interpret scripts and stimuli, devise original work and analyse how dramatic choices communicate meaning.
Year 9
Performance and Interpretation
What pupils will know and be able to do
- Interpret scripts and identify important dramatic information.
- Develop original performance material through devising.
- Apply dramatic conventions, including direct address and hot seating.
- Use scriptwriting to communicate characters, situations and ideas.
- Make justified creative decisions when developing a performance.
- Analyse and evaluate their own work and the work of others.
- Use specialist vocabulary when discussing performance.
How this builds on previous learning
This combines the performance, characterisation, contextual and collaborative knowledge developed in Years 7 and 8.
How this prepares pupils for future learning
This prepares pupils for Key Stage 4 study by introducing more structured devising, evaluation and theatre analysis. [Tier 2 Drama.docx | Word]
Year 10
Professional Practice and Production
What pupils will know and be able to do
- Analyse examples of professional theatre.
- Understand the roles and responsibilities involved in theatre production.
- Explore the work and influence of key theatre practitioners.
- Understand the contrasting approaches of Stanislavski and Brecht.
- Apply professional techniques to practical performance work.
- Develop scripted and devised performances.
- Explain how performance and production choices influence an audience.
- Collaborate effectively throughout rehearsal and production.
How this builds on previous learning
This develops the performance, devising and analytical skills established at Key Stage 3 by placing them within professional theatrical contexts.
How this prepares pupils for future learning
This prepares pupils to respond independently to performance briefs, refine their craft and evaluate their own creative decisions.
Year 11
Creative Response and Evaluation
What pupils will know and be able to do
- Respond creatively and purposefully to a performance brief or stimulus.
- Generate and develop ideas for original performance work.
- Apply appropriate acting and theatrical techniques.
- Perform effectively as an individual and as part of a group.
- Sustain a character and communicate meaning to an audience.
- Reflect on strengths and identify areas for improvement.
- Evaluate creative choices using specialist vocabulary.
- Refine performance work in response to feedback.
How this builds on previous learning
This brings together pupils’ knowledge of performance, characterisation, practitioners, production and professional theatre.
How this prepares pupils for future learning
This prepares pupils for post-16 study and develops the collaborative, creative and evaluative skills required within performance and the creative industries. [Tier 2 Drama.docx | Word]
Year 12
Performance Techniques, Context and Careers
What pupils will know and be able to do
- Apply advanced acting and performance techniques.
- Develop their understanding of Stanislavski and Brecht.
- Use practitioners’ approaches to inform live performance.
- Analyse how social, historical and political contexts influence theatre.
- Develop increasingly detailed and convincing characterisation.
- Evaluate professional and pupil performances.
- Understand different career roles within theatre.
- Explore pathways into performance and the wider creative industries.
How this builds on previous learning
This develops the practical, contextual and analytical knowledge acquired at Key Stage 4 through more advanced performance work and theatrical study.
How this prepares pupils for future learning
This prepares pupils for increasingly independent creative practice, advanced stagecraft and rigorous critical analysis in Year 13.
Year 13
Performance Mastery and Critical Reflection
What pupils will know and be able to do
- Apply advanced acting and stagecraft skills.
- Understand how lighting, sound and costume contribute to performance.
- Respond creatively to stimuli when devising original work.
- Collaborate effectively on complex performance projects.
- Make sophisticated and justified creative decisions.
- Analyse live and recorded theatre.
- Evaluate their own performances with accuracy and insight.
- Refine work through rehearsal, critique and reflection.
- Communicate theatrical ideas clearly and confidently.
How this builds on previous learning
This brings together pupils’ knowledge of acting, practitioners, contexts, production, stagecraft and critical analysis.
How this prepares pupils for future learning
This prepares pupils for university, drama school, employment and further participation in theatre and the creative industries. It also develops the confidence, adaptability and communication skills valued across a wide range of careers.
