Statement of intent

Drama at John Ferneley College is about giving students an outlet for their creativity, it allows them to be themselves fully without judgement. Drama not only prepares students for a career in the acting industry, but it gives them many life skills which they will take with them and can be transferable to many careers and situations such as teamwork, problem-solving, confidence, creativity, communication skills, improved self-esteem and empathy. It allows students to look at many different aspects of the world we live in which they may not have considered or even thought about. It allows them to view social situations differently and look objectively at situations through different schemes of work on offer. 

Students at KS3 complete mostly practical lessons with some supporting theory such as script writing and role on the wall.  Students will develop a range of skills in the KS3 curriculum around creating, performing and evaluating, and they are assessed in these areas. Students will engage with various topics which include stereotypes, monologues, stage combat, social media's effect on society and theatre in education to name a few. Students will develop a range of performance skills, techniques, and subject knowledge to embed their understanding throughout the rotation to have a foundation for studying drama at GCSE level.  

The KS4 GCSE Drama curriculum through AQA allows students to have a broad range of skills and practitioners available to engage with from Brecht and Stanislavski to more modern practitioners such as Frantic Assembly and Berkoff. Students are expected to fully engage in both practical and theoretic lessons which encourage them to analyse and evaluate live theatre and the chosen set text, which is currently Blood Brothers. Students also are expected to perform two extracts from a scripted play for a visiting examiner and devise a performance from a variety of stimuli - this involved using all the skills learnt at KS3. Students are given opportunities to go and see local and national theatre and to take part in visiting workshops with practitioners within the industry to gain as much experience as possible in practical drama.  

Mostly drama at John Ferneley College is inclusive - no-one is left behind, and everyone supports everyone when we are in the studio space.

Subject journey