Students will have the knowledge and understanding to go into the industry of Performing Arts. Students will know how to create, rehearse and perform their own devised performances using improvisation and script. Students will understand the three different disciplines of acting, singing and dancing alongside other production skills such as hair and make-up, directing or costume designing. Students have the freedom to express themselves in this area of the school, they gain confidence working with others and understand how to speak publicly. These communication skills are crucial for future development. These skills are important to prepare students for the industry of Performing Arts where they will be expected to have knowledge in these areas straight from the audition process.
Schemes of work follow a sequence of challenge throughout KS3 and the more challenging techniques are learnt in the later stages of year 8 to prepare students for what is expected in KS4 (Skills include Devising performance and presenting). In KS3 students spend a large amount of time understanding basic performance skills such as body language and facial expressions to gain confidence in these areas. In KS4 the sequence of learning is largely based on the Units for the Performing Arts technical award. In year 9 there is a lot of time spent on students gaining presentational and performance skills so they are able to complete Unit 1 in year 10. As students’ progress to year 11, they have more independence in how they create their performances and will often use skills and knowledge they have acquired from previous years
In KS3 the schemes of work allow students to gain knowledge and understanding of different disciplines and styles such as physical theatre, naturalism and devising. In year 7 they have opportunities to not only study acting but they also do musical theatre and dance. All of these skills prepare students to be able to perform in their GCSE devised pieces. The varied disciplines allow students to gain understanding of their strengths before entering KS4 where they are required to choose what suits them best. The skills learnt in KS3 are still relevant and useful for students because they are able to communicate and work well in a team. These are vital skills that they need to use in their future career paths. We also spend a lot of time understanding empathy and social issues that are important for students to gain an understanding on before entering the world.
