Welcome to the Drama Department
The Arts are an integral part of life at Coloma. We aim to encourage as many girls as possible to join in with the musical and performance life at the school , be that through singing in one of our many excellent Choirs, learning to play an instrument, auditioning for the school play or getting stuck in with the technical and staging support teams - There is room for everyone!
Drama is also continuing to grow at Coloma, with many opportunities to take to the stage. We have successfully run our first tour to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year. Taking our own original show, written by one of the 6th form students, to the Fringe was a wonderful experience. The girls soaked up the atmosphere by rivalling fellow performers in the bid to promote their show, whilst also relishing ample opportunities to see such a variety of theatre themselves. The quality of our whole school productions are very high and serve as an excellent way to create links between the lower and upper years. Recent productions that involved huge casts across the years are Peter Pan and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
We continually strive to broaden and develop our Arts curricula and have an exciting extracurricular programme.. More recently we have been delighted to be able to use the new Winton House Performing Arts Centre, a fully equipped theatre venue opened at Coloma in 2011.
During the year girls play and act at a number of events. Here are just a few recent highlights:
- Christmas Concert - Fairfield Halls.
- Peter Pan - School Hall.
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Winton House Performing Arts Centre.
- The Lion King - Winton House Performing Arts Centre.
- Oliver - Winton House Performing Arts Centre.
- Best Served Cold - Venue 45, the Space, Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
- Under Milk Wood - Winton House Performing Arts Centre.
You will find a variety of photo galleries and media clips showcasing drama at Coloma in our Forms and Downloads section of this site. Enjoy!
Curriculum Content
Key Stage Three
Students in years 7 and 8 have one lesson of Drama each week. Six units are taught over the year that leads to an assessment every half term. The assessment will always take the form of a performance to ensure girls become comfortable performing in front of an audience.
Students are encouraged to engage, focus and remain on task throughout the lesson working positively with all members of their form. When working in groups in the devising process of their performance, they will learn to offer challenging ideas and begin to take a directorial role, motivating and supporting others within a group.
Students will be encouraged to approach work with enthusiasm, responding creatively and imaginatively and will learn to confidently evaluate work both in whole class discussions and in written tasks, using drama specific terminology to express ideas.
Students will develop an ability to create an imaginative role for the audience which is communicated with sensitivity.
Key Stage Four
GCSE Drama - AQA Code: 8261 - Specifications
Course Content - What Will I Study
- Two improvisations: How to devise your own performance from being handed the initial idea to mapping out possibilities, devising a situation, a plot, characters and dialogue, through to a performance with costume, stage lighting and sound.
- Two scripted performances - one will be the study of a Shakespeare play; classes will be split into groups who will be given an act each to interpret and realize on stage. The second performance will be an entire play, where each student will be cast by their teacher to be performed in the final year.
- Regular visits will be made to the theatre.
- Learning how to approach the written paper from a practical perspective - the written paper will require in-depth ability to write about the performances students have produced over the two year course. In this way the written paper and the practical are completely interlinked.
How will my progress be tested and examined?
- Unit 1 - Written Paper 1.5 hours 40% of GCSE Qualification Assessment Objectives 1 and 3, with relative weightings of 20% and 20% respectively.
- Unit 2 - Practical Work - 60% of the GCSE Qualification Candidates are required to present practical work for two controlled assessment options, each with a weighting of 30%.
Progression - How will the study of Drama benefit students’ future education and career?
Drama encourages you to explore and actively engage in a wide range of creative and stimulating activities, to develop as an effective and independent learner and as a critical and reflective thinker with an enquiring mind.
It develops competence in a range of practical, creative and performance skills.
Drama encourages you to work imaginatively and creatively in collaborative contexts, generating, developing and communicating ideas.
It also provides a strong and appropriate foundation for further progression to Drama courses, including A-Level Drama and Theatre Studies, and enhanced vocational and career pathways.
