Drama at Ercall Wood will facilitate our students becoming confident and self-assured; able to communicate articulately and with intended meaning in response to whatever the future brings. Staff are passionate about the subject and its place within the curriculum. We seek to inspire the next generation of Theatre lovers, but even more we seek to nurture young people to become all that they can be. 

ASPIRE: The Drama curriculum is designed to inspire a love and passion for theatre and capture the imagination of our students. Drama students enjoy learning through practical activities which encompass a wide range of styles and genres as both performers and designers (set, costume, lighting, sound, and puppets), becoming aware of roles within the Theatre Industry. They learn creative ways to express themselves and will use their senses, perceptions, feelings, and values to communicate ideas, emotions, and experiences. All students are encouraged to develop their skills further through a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including workshops and termly productions. Students with a talent and passion for Drama are encouraged and stretched to perform at the highest level. Black ties are awarded to students who show extended commitment and skills through extra-curricular drama clubs and productions.

EMPOWER: Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and their place within group practical work. Development of their critical faculties enables them to effectively evaluate their own work and that of others. Through the study of specific skills and techniques, students will develop their resilience, self-discipline, health, and well-being in order to overcome challenges and learn how to present themselves going into real life situations.

RESPECT: Through a safe and respectful environment students learn to trust their ideas and abilities and grow in confidence whilst honing teamwork and cooperation skills. Development of their critical faculties enables them to effectively evaluate their own work and that of others, enabling them to become life-long learners.

All KS3 lessons are practical in nature. Core knowledge for the subject is introduced at the start of each Unit. From a sound knowledge base, students go on to develop skills through a wide range of individual and group tasks, exploring and developing their vocal and physical expression. Knowledge and understanding are checked through quizzing and questioning, and any gaps addressed. As an integral part of every lesson students evaluate their own and others work, learning to offer and receive feed-back positively and make constructive improvements. Every lesson includes a recall task (prior learning) and developmental tasks allowing students to progress their skills through each unit. New skills and ideas are modelled by the teacher, and the work of older students is also used to model high quality work. Students receive verbal feedback every lesson, targeting things for improvement and reinforcing understanding. Misconceptions are identified through a range of questioning techniques to ensure fundamental knowledge is secure. Students are introduced to ‘What’, ‘How’, ‘Why’ questions to structure their verbal explanations of their own work and that of other students. The introduction of devising and script units in year 7 forms a foundation whereby each year when these skills are re-visited students are embedding prior knowledge while building and expanding their skills and understanding. Students are given an opportunity to share their work every lesson in a safe and supportive environment, allowing them to become more confident and raising their self-esteem. By the end of KS3, students will have sound foundation knowledge and skills allowing them to communicate clearly and show resilience in over-coming challenges. They are also thoroughly prepared to begin GCSE Drama if they so choose. 

By the end of KS3 students will have learnt creative ways to express themselves and will be able to use their senses, perceptions, feelings and values to communicate ideas, emotions and experiences. They will have developed their ability to evaluate and reflect on themselves and the behaviour of others. They will be able to trust their ideas and abilities and have increased confidence in themselves. They will have developed their teamwork and cooperation skills. Students will show resilience and self-discipline to overcome challenges and be more aware of how to present themselves going into real life situations.

Homework is not set in KS3. Instead, students are encouraged to attend after school enrichment activities to enhance their learning.

We believe that opportunities to bring the curriculum to life should be integral. We passionately believe that our students should sample a wealth of exciting new experiences to broaden their horizons, open doors of opportunity, hope and aspiration for all, regardless of their circumstances. Our enrichment activities aim to further equip students with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. 

After school clubs run weekly, focussing on both performance work, and backstage technical aspects including set design, special effects make-up, sound & lighting design, puppet making and costume design.

There are also opportunities to attend theatre productions in venues such as Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, and Birmingham, to watch a professional production at school annually by companies such as Theatre Centre and Quirky Birds Theatre, to take part in joint performance opportunities with partner schools within the Trust, and to take part in workshops with professional performers and designers such as Squire Combat and Theatre Centre.

All students are able to take part in termly performances, with at least one whole school production every year.

Black ties are awarded to students who show consistent application and skills in drama during enrichment activities.

Drama prepares students with a wealth of transferrable skills including:

• Communication

• Confidence
• Teamwork and leadership
• Listening and responding
• Creativity
• Critical thinking and problem-solving
• Time management
• Adaptability
• Empathy

Students can go on to study A Level Theatre Studies or Level 3 vocational courses such as BTEC in Performing Arts. They can also pursue apprenticeships in Technical Theatre such as lighting or sound engineering.