What are KS4 and 5 students learning in …

Key Stage 4

Year 9 began their GCSE course by exploring the set text ‘Blood Brothers’. They practically explored the theme of how social class affects life chances and enjoyed the opportunity to practise a Liverpool accent. Some students were also able to see a local production of the play in Hailsham.

Since Christmas, Year 9 have been shown previously devised pieces of theatre to inspire their own work. They are now in groups beginning to explore devising techniques. The stimuli they have been given to inspire these pieces of theatre have been on Covid and the dangers of Social Media. These pieces will be performed to an audience in April and then students will write their reflective logs on the devising process.

Year 10 began the academic year with a trip to see the harrowing "Woman in Black" which was truly terrifying. This experience enabled them to answer the theatre question on their GCSE Drama paper. Students were given a choice to practise the theatre question using the production of The

National Theatre Digital production of ‘Peter Pan’ or the hilarious ‘One Man Two Guvnors’ with James Corden. All of Term 1 and 2 was spent preparing for the mock exam in November so we also revisited and revised ‘Blood Brothers’.

Students are now working on a variety of plays for their two scripted extracts from a range of plays including: ‘Bouncers & Shakers’, ‘My Mother Said I Never Should’, ‘Polar Bears’, ‘Things I know to be True’, ‘Top Girls’ and ‘Blackout’.

Key Stage 5

In Term 1, Year 12s explored the set text ‘Equus’ and practised written responses from the performer and designer's perspective for the written exam. We took all the Sixth Form Drama students to see an inspirational version of The Crucible by Arthur Miller which we are now using for Component 1 of the A-level course where students have to use an extract of a play as a springboard for devising. Students have taken part in Brechtian workshops as they have to devise in the style of a chosen practitioner. Brecht's political epic style is well-suited to