School Life

Drama

Staff

Miss L Carroll - Head of Drama

Mrs S Oldfield

Miss R Dell

Mrs J Head - HLTA

Drama is on the curriculum for all year groups. It has three main aims:

To allow students to work imaginatively
To facilitate working in groups of all sizes, thus encoraging team work
To allow students to work with scripts, develop ideas and show their work on a regular basis.

Drama at Bishop Ramsey also has a comprehensive range of extra curricular facilities including a Drama Club which is open to everyone and a Production Society which includes opportunities for acting, directing and stage management.

Key Stage 3

At KS3 students acquire a range of skills. In Year 7 they follow a programme called “An Introduction to Drama” which helps the students to learn skills such as Hot Seating, improvisation and Role Play. Throughout the year they are able to explore these skills using a wide range of materials and lessons including, Shakespeare, scriptwriting and a creature scheme based around Toys.

Year 7 also does a cross Curricular project on The Lion King, where work is shared with Art, Music, RE and Dance. This is showcased for parents and friends at the end of the summer term.

In Year 8 the students cover more specific drama techniques such as Abstract Theatre, Practitioners and how to put a performance together through the devising process. In the term before Christmas, they also get to work on creating their own pantomime.

Key Stage 4

Students can opt to study GCSE Drama (Edexcel). They have the opportunity to take part in workshops and go on theatre visits as well as having live theatre streamed into the classroom.

Students study a range of texts from Shakespeare to modern work such as DNA. They devise their own work as well as acting from scripts, and they present their written work in the form of a portfolio.

Key Stage 5

Students can opt to study A Level Drama and Theatre (Edexcel). They study practitioners such as Artaud and Brecht as well as plays from all eras. Students have the opportunity to devise their own work, which is filmed and sent to an examiner. They also perform live in the form of monologues, duologues and group pieces throughout the course.

The A level group are encouraged to see as much live theatre as they can. We also take out trips to the theatre from Bishop Ramsey.

Extra Curricular

There are lots of opportunities for learners of all ages to get involved in showcases, plays and musicals. There is a thriving drama club who put on a show at Christmas, a Musical Theatre Society and a Shakespeare Club, where members get to perform their work at the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival. Younger students are encouraged to act and the older ones (KS4) direct and design the costume and lighting for the plays.

Every other year we take part in the National Theatre Connections Programme which allows our most able students to work on a contemporary play and perform it at a London Theatre.