We aim to create confident, outgoing young people who are able to express themselves through effective communication. The Performing Arts Curriculum develops these social / communication skills to enable our young people to become more successful in the wider world. In short, it is our goal to enable our students to be able to perform in front of others with enjoyment and to communicate effectively.
Curriculum Intent
The Performing Arts Curriculum at Winterton Community Academy aims to inspire imagination, encourage positive group work and develop an understanding of the Performing Arts Industry. The course is designed to promote various elements of the performing arts and to provide an enjoyment of learning through highly practical lessons. KS3 will also provide a grounding for GCSE Performing Arts encouraging the use of technical language and providing a foundation of practical performance skill (acting).
The subject will focus mainly on Drama at KS3 with modules of Music (learning an instrument: Ukulele) and Film Studies helping to ensure students develop a breadth of experience/skill and a basic knowledge of different career paths in the industry.
KS4 Performing Arts develops a number of the skills learnt at KS3 in greater depth and allows for additional study of the Performing Arts industry, further promoting a range of skills that can be utilised in a number of settings.
It is our intention that, by the end of Year 9:
- All students attending Winterton Community Academy have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. This will be through a single module of ukulele in Year 7 where a basic understanding of the instrument will be developed, including how to read chord diagrams.
- All students will have a foundation in Drama preparation for GCSE Drama or GCSE Performing Arts
- All students will have an introduction to film production in Year 9 through the study of the film ‘Signs’. This unit helps to develop analytical writing skills as well as serving as an introduction to film production. This opens students to a wealth of career options as they begin to recognise the value of production roles in the industry.
It is worth noting that Performing Arts at Winterton is not just about becoming an actor or gaining some knowledge of the industry. We value the ‘social’ and ‘transferable skills’ that come naturally within the subject. These skills often support a number of other curriculum areas and career paths. We also utilise a variety of existing play texts, poems and novels as stimuli, some of which tie in directly with the English curriculum or provide some degree of additional provision supporting an understanding of script work and language. Script extracts utilised in KS3 consist of, but are not limited to, ‘The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler’, Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ and Dennis Kelly’s ‘DNA’.
Our ‘no opt out’ policy at KS3 ensures students develop resilience, improve upon communication skills and improve literacy through the reading of challenging texts and considered questioning. The curriculum has been carefully constructed to build on the skills learnt in previous units. Each element providing greater challenge and immersing students into the exciting yet complex world of the Creative Arts. At KS3 all students are expected to perform in front of their peers, helping to address social anxiety and a fear of standing in front of others. Both essential in our ever-demanding society.
At KS4 we study a range of Theatre Practitioners and develop a greater understanding of theatre theory. This is still a heavily practical exploration but also features significant research and the production of written portfolio evidence that is assessed as part of the GCSE.
As well as providing an excellent foundation in acting, film production and ukulele we also introduce students to a number of theatre production roles; stage management, stage lighting and direction for example. This is built on in more depth at KS4 but KS3 does introduce students to some of these areas throughout the course.
If you would like to discover more about the Performing Arts Curriculum, please see our Curriculum Map for an overview of the KS3 course including key vocabulary and placement of assessment.
Summary of Intent
It is our intention that by the end of Year 9:
- All students will have a foundation in Drama / Performing Arts in preparation for Performing Arts or Drama at GCSE level
- A basic introduction to performance – voice and movement skills
- Experience devising original work and staging/blocking of existing script extracts
- Experience working in a variety of different styles/genres of theatre/Film: ‘T.I.E’, ‘Naturalistic Drama’ (with some non-naturalistic elements), Tragedy, Victorian Melodrama and Silent Film, Science Fiction Thriller/Horror
- A basic knowledge of production elements in theatre and film
- A basic knowledge of film production (camera shots, angles, movement) and storyboarding
- An understanding of the key vocabulary for drama, film and ukulele
- Practice spelling the key vocabulary for drama, film and ukulele in advance of GCSE Performing Arts or Drama
- Experience crafting ‘written responses’ in advance of GCSE Performing Arts or Drama
- Experience evaluating and reflecting upon their own practical work and the practical work of others
- All students will have had the opportunity to learn the ‘basics’ of one instrument (ukulele)
- All students will have a greater understanding of possible career paths in theatre and film
- All students will have performed to their peers during practical assessment
It is worth noting that students are provided the opportunity to engage in activities that may provide enjoyment and relief from their other more academic lessons. We are proud to state that this is a key feature of the Performing Arts Curriculum. We place significant value on these experiences, an example being playing an instrument for enjoyment and utilising this as a strategy to destress and improve mood.
