Drama

At FCC we have built an extremely rich and diverse Drama curriculum which provides engaging learning for all students at all key stages. 

Key Stage 3

Dance is offered to all students in the school from Year 7. Students will have a short block of dance lessons in Year 7, included within their PE curriculum time, so they can all explore dance and build their skills. Dance is then offered as an optional sport within PE lessons for Year 8 and Year 9 students. The students will explore different dance styles including jazz, musical theatre, hip-hop, commercial, contemporary and ballet, building their ability to utilise multiple different techniques. They will have opportunities to perform their work for audiences and build their performing and technical skills.

Students will also build their skills as choreographers and start learning how to create their own dances. This is vital in terms of developing creative thinking skills and self-expression, as well as ensuring that those who want to study dance post-key stage three are ready to start taking choreography tasks.

Key Stage 4

Dance GCSE offers students an opportunity to gain a qualification using their creative talents and explore different styles and skills within dance. Students will work on their performing skills as well as developing as choreographers. They will also build their critical appreciation skills and build their knowledge and understanding of professional dance works from the industry. 

If a student is interested in taking the course, it is highly recommended that students are confident with dance or have previous dance experience, which could include attending dance classes outside of school. It would be expected that students have participated in dance lessons at KS3 within school.  This, though not always essential, will ensure that students have a strong foundation on which to build on in order to ensure success on this challenging course.

On the Dance GCSE course, group work is essential and, therefore, students must demonstrate during KS3 that they are capable of working with their classmates in a mature, proactive and supportive manner.

Key Stage 5

Course Accreditation: A Level Drama and Theatre / Examining Board: Eduqas  

Our A level course was selected specifically to follow on from the GCSE course and build on existing skills so we feel that students have a coherent Drama education right through from Y7 to Y13. The course demands a high level of practical skill as well as a creative ability to produce original pieces of theatre. You will also be required to write about theatre and to develop your powers of analysis to become an informed critic. The course will involve taking part in productions, as well as studying plays and theatre styles. Students will also be required to play an active part of the department by joining our visible leader programme as this will develop much needed directing skills when working with younger students. 

The course has 3 sections: 

Unit 1 - Reinterpretation performance and coursework. In this unit, students will be given a section of a classic play and will use the theory and practise of a contemporary theatre practitioner to reinvent the play and perform it for official examination. Stdents will create a piece of coursework to explain their process. 

Unit 2 - Devised performance, scripted performance and coursework. Students will prepare two separate performances and perform them on the same day for a visiting examiner. One will be an original piece, created by the pupil; the other will be an extract from a published play. Students will demonstrate contrasting styles and skills for this exam and produce a piece of coursework evaluating their performances. 

Unit 3 - Written exam. At the end of the course, students will complete a written exam which covers three plays. Currently Trojan Women, Accidental Death of an Anarchist and the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time are studied. Students will be expected to discuss these works from the perspective of a director, actor, designer and audience member. 

Throughout the course students will see many pieces of live theatre and are expected to enhance their cultural and theatrical knowledge by doing this. 

Finally, to add to our diverse and rich curriculum, a variety of extra-curricular opportunities are available including the whole school production in which everyone is welcome to get involved on or offstage. The Shakespeare Schools Festival calls upon our top 30 students across years 8 to 13 to create a piece of Shakespeare work to perform at a professional theatre. An annual Dance Showcase which gives students an opportunity to share their exam pieces and dance work from across the year. We have also set up KS3 Drama and Dance clubs which are very highly attended. Our students also perform in the summer and Christmas concerts as well as many local dance festivals.

These extra-curricular experiences can be valuable for students and many FCC students feel that the dance and drama department is their place in school to feel welcomed, supported, safe and free to express themselves while making new friends and learning new skills.