Knowledge

A knowledge rich curriculum, introducing students to be the best that has been thought and said in Performing Arts across the disciplines of Drama and Music.

Strength

Successful, resilient learners who make good progress and enjoy learning. Developing resilience through the cyclical development process of: practice > rehearsal > performance > feedback > practice

Ambition

An aspirational culture of high achievement, enabling every student to achieve something great, through the use of differentiation both scaffolded for support and extension.

Drama Intent:

A high quality drama education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of drama and their talent as dramatists. It also plays an important part in the personal development of our pupils increasing self-awareness and self-confidence; developing skills in teamwork and leadership; heightening individual and group creativity and fostering a sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with drama, allowing them to develop performance material and watch with discrimination to the best theatrical performance has to offer.

Drama Aims:

The curriculum for drama at KSA aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Create and develop ideas to communicate meaning for theatrical performance;
• Apply theatrical skills to realise artistic intentions in live performance;
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how drama and theatre is developed and performed;
• Analyse and evaluate their own work and the work of others.

Drama Implementation:

The aims of the drama curriculum are implemented through individual sequenced lessons where pupils engage in a range of practical learning activities. Creating and developing ideas to communicate meaning for theatrical performance, in group work allowing students to collaborate on their understanding of how performance is created. Establishing leadership roles and working effectively as part of a team. Applying theatrical skills to realise artistic intentions in live performance, participating in technique workshops that enable pupils to explore and consolidate their knowledge and understanding of key principles of dramatic performance, which allows pupils to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how drama and theatre is developed and performed in a variety of contexts. Exploring drama from the origins of Greek Theatre all the way through to contemporary practices of West End Musicals and Physical Theatre. This then allows pupils to then analyse and evaluate their own work and the work of others in lessons, examining the work of peers, as well as professional practice through Live Theatre Evaluation and extra curricular opportunities to go to the Theatre.

Music Intent:

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.

Music Aims:

The national curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
• Learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
• Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations

Music Implementation:

Students participate in a variety of practical and theory exercises that develop themselves as listeners, performers and composers. They study a range of music; from the religious Renaissance to the experimental Twentieth Century, a variety of World and Popular music to the soundtracks of film, radio and video games.

Students have the opportunity to use a range of instruments, practice room facilities, and the computer suite to develop their ability to use Music Technology to write, edit and master compositions. There are extra-curricular clubs after school to further their musical skills beyond the classroom, including a keyboard club, a choir, ukulele club and music technology club; as well as visits to concert venues and music events.

For more detailed information of the core content covered in this subject for each year group, please access the Knowledge Organisers here:

Key Stage 3 (Years 7, 8 and 9) 
Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11)

Key Stage 3 Performing Arts
Year 7	Introduction to Drama (D)
	The Orchestra (M)
	Darkwood Manor (D)
	Keyboard I (M) Technical Theatre (D)
	Ukulele I (M)
Year 8	Keyboard II (M) Greek theatre (D)
	Ukulele II (M)
	Huskar Pit (D)
	Rap and Hip Hop (M)
	Reviewing performance (D)
Year 9	Blood Brothers (D)
	Keyboard III (M)
	Devising Drama (D)
	Battle of the Band (M) Scripted Performance (D) Practitioners (D) or Radio Show (M)