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Drama

Drama is an important part of life at Clifton – whether you are an academic Drama student or simply enjoy performance work, there are many opportunities for you.

Those choosing Drama as an academic course will have the opportunity to develop their acting skills and understanding of the stage with more focus. Pupils can develop teamwork and communication skills and it is an ideal course to develop an understanding of the arts, to build confidence, to become accustomed to speaking publicly and to work in a team with peers.

Pupils study playwrights such as Shakespeare, Miller and Bernard Shaw and will have the opportunity to go on various trips to local theatres, the West End and to participate in theatre workshops.

Drama Academic

GCSE

This is an excellent GCSE choice for pupils wanting to learn to work as a team, develop leadership skills and build confidence.

At this level the focus is on the practical skills and techniques which amount to 60% and the written work accounts for 40% of the syllabus. Pupils learn to work together collaboratively and work with scripts, devising techniques and improvisation skills.

There are two moderated practical exams each year and a written element which focuses on what they have learnt; how they have achieved their level of success; and what they can do to further improve confidence, to become accustomed to speaking publicly and to work in a team with peers.

Workshops are a feature of the Fifth Form GCSE programme, such as the Mask Workshop. See the gallery

See our Drama & Dance brochure for further details of the range of courses on offer. See the E-Reader version of the brochure (requires Flash).

AS and A2

At this level, Theatre Studies encompasses the work of GCSE and then further develops understanding by studying the work of practitioners, e.g. Artaud, Brecht and Stanislavski.

Playwrights and plays are studied in depth, both practically and in written format. The syllabus at this level is 60% written and 40% practical.

Performance work on plays such as The Doll’s House; Our Country’s Good; and Tartuffe, The Revenger’s Tragedy are studied.

Further development of devised performance work is a feature of the Upper Sixth and is a major part of the examined work for this year group.

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