Drama

Overall Drama & Theatre Intent

Drama and Theatre at HGS develops young theatre makers who take creative risks and understand the power and importance of theatre as a force within humanity. Learners build diverse skills promoting equality for all.

Within the Drama and Theatre curriculum at HGS we are:

• Promoting empathetic creative thinkers and risk takers who positively serve their communities,
• Developing confidence and resilience, making students adaptable and employable in the 21st century,
• Broadening horizons, opening lifelong access to the performing arts and engaging students in the wider world,
• Producing theatre makers who create high quality contemporary performances and recognise the arts as a viable career opportunity.

Key principles underpinning the Drama and Theatre curriculum at HGS are;

• To spark a love of learning and a curiosity to ask questions far into later life. Through guided exploration of issues and topics on a local, national and global level, we educate our learners about the world around them and encourage them to consider how they can not only be part of it but shape it too.
• To deliver lessons rooted in academic rigour and incredibly high expectations. We subscribe to the viewpoint that Drama and Theatre should be viewed as a training that sits alongside any ‘core’ subject. From Frantic Assembly in Year 7 to Artaud in Year 8 and Stanislavski in Year 9, our students receive the highest levels of challenge throughout their study. We are unapologetic in the high standards demanded though a broad and balanced curriculum.
• Our curriculum champions diversity, allowing students to explore; the lives of refugees in Syria, the humanity of Malala Yousefzai and special educational needs such as autism (Curious Incident).
• To show students that the performing arts are a viable career path and the transferable skills learnt will serve them throughout their lives.

Strengths of our curriculum and department are:

• Excellently sequenced Key Stage 3 schemes which build solid knowledge and skills into Key Stage 4 and 5.
• High levels of challenge, leading students to create sophisticated theatre with excellent KS4/5 outcomes. High quality teaching and learning from a team of experienced specialists.
• Students are encouraged to be Respectful of others, aim for Excellence in their work, take Adventurous, creative risks, be Committed to their learning and Honest in their reflections.
• Our development of rapid, targeted, live feedback and assessment.
• The diverse range of quality pathways and extracurricular provision providing accessibility to all.