In Drama at Lacon Childe School we encourage students to develop skills, resilience, teamwork, and the imaginative and creative capacity they need to become the audiences and performers of the future.
Pupils are primarily taught through the art form of theatre, from pupils in Key stage 3 creating devised work that they then perform to each other in class to pupils in Key stage 4 who perform for external assessment and pupils from all years appearing in productions performed to the public. We also use learning approaches including discussion, role-play, group and individual writing, skills workshops and rehearsals.
We are particularly proud of our shows, we aim to produce work to the highest standard with an emphasis on challenging texts, original music, ambitious acting and beautiful and creative productions. Some of our past productions include The Enchanted Road, A Midsummers Night's Dream, Doctor Faustas, The Adventure of Pinocchio, Mermaid and most recently Sasha & The Dogs. Our most recent sell out success was The Wizard of Oz – an incredible testament to the hard work and talent by all of our pupils.
All pupils that study Drama will gain knowledge and understanding of the artform of live theatre and will also learn the skills of relaxation, self-expression and teamwork, leading to greater confidence and better understanding of themselves and others.
We aim to make Drama lessons as safe and inclusive as possible: pupils learn how to perform, analyse and evaluate each other's performances in a supportive environment based on mutual respect and appreciation.
KS3
Skills covered in Year 7:
- Learn how to manipulate their attention to create effective performances
- Learn relaxation techniques to help their imagination
- Present performed work to class and analyse and evaluate
- Learn basic principles of improvisation
- Analyse scripts from both actor and audience point of view
Skills covered in Year 8:
- Develop their ability to work in stylised conventions
- Develop physical skills through mime
- Explore topics such as power and status to identify different dramatic dynamics in theatre
- Create more detailed scripts and develop specialised vocabulary
Areas covered in Year 9:
- Create more complex characters
- Exploration of new genres, such as slapstick comedy and mime
- Mixed media teaching – creating own musical theatre set designs and producing own silent movie Experience more challenging and contentious topics
- Demonstrate more rigour in their analysis and evaluation
- Study published scripts and learn conventions and terms used in the theatre industry
KS4/GCSE - OCR Drama
- Live theatre production - classic and contemporary
- Look at roles of actors, directors, designers, sound and lighting technicians, costumes and prop makers
- Work as writers and/or actors, designers and technicians to create their own live theatre piece
Assessment:
There are 3 assessed projects for GCSE:
- Devising from a stimulus- creating an original live theatre performance supported by a written portfolio (30% of mark total)
- Presenting and Performing Texts- rehearsing then presenting two scenes from an established play as an actor, designer or technician performed live to a visiting examiner (30% of mark total)
- Traditional written exam: Section A - on a set text from a theatrical point of view / Section B- an analysis of live theatre seen during the course. (40% of mark total)
Enrichment
Pupils will normally go on a least one live theatre trip per year during the course, which will enrich Section B of the written examination.
At Lacon Childe, we pride ourselves on Drama being an opportunity for all pupils to achieve. We are inclusive to all abilities and welcome any interest, no matter how experiences, both within and beyond the curriculum.
We also offer a variety of extra-curricular activities, please click here to view.
Our School Production for 2024 as 'Matilda the Musical', please see poster here for more details.
