Expressive Arts

The Expressive Arts Curriculum

In KS3, students will study Art (including Photography), Drama and Music. In Years 7 & 8, students will have 2 hours per subject a fortnight. In Year 9, students will have 2 hours a fortnight in Art and Music and 1 hour a fortnight in Drama.

Key Stage 3 Curriculum

The Art Curriculum

 

Music Curriculum

Drama Curriculum

KS4 Curriculum

There are currently five GCSE options you can take in KS4: GCSE Art (Eduqas), GCSE Drama (AQA), GCSE Music (Eduqas), GCSE Textiles (Eduqas), and GCSE Photography (Eduqas). Students have five hours a fortnight for a subject at KS4.

GCSE Art, Photography and Textiles

Qualification: GCSE Art, GCSE Photography and GCSE Textiles

(Examination Board Eduqas – www.eduqas.co.uk) 

The Art GCSE, Textiles & Photography courses are aimed at students who enjoy developing their creativity through experimenting with different materials and exploring ways of communicating their views and ideas through art, textiles and photography. Students are encouraged to take a personalised approach to their studies and should become increasingly independent as artists and photographers over the course.  Students are taught to:

•  their ideas through investigations of artists’ work
•  their work as it progresses
•  their thoughts, views, feelings through drawing, painting, print-making, sculpture, photography, digital imaging, stitching, sewing and working in mixed medias.
•  finished pieces of work that have been planned and show their understanding of a topic.

How will I be assessed?

Component 1– Coursework (60%)

– A portfolio of work developed throughout y10 and 11.

Component 2: Exam (40%)

– A sketchbook and final piece based on a theme set by the exam board.  This involves a 10-hour final exam.

What skills do I need?

Basic art skills are required – class work in Key Stage 3 will aid this. The ability to be able to work independently and take on feedback from your teachers is essential to the development of your skills.

What can I progress on to?

Many students who study GCSE Art, Textiles or Photography progress on to study Art, Textiles or Photography at A Level. You could also study further BTEC courses.

Students then progress on to Art Foundation courses at college and then specialise in a degree in their chosen discipline.

GCSE Drama

Qualification: GCSE Drama (OCR Examination Board – https://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/gcse/drama-j316-from-2016/) (External link)

Drama is a collaborative, practical and challenging course. OCR provides a fantastic curriculum to ignite and engage learners’ creativity, passion and interests. The balance between practical acting tasks, written coursework and written examination gives students the best opportunity to succeed. Students will be given the opportunity to develop their interest in acting and live theatre through theatre visits, backstage tours and professional workshops.

How will I be assessed?

Component 1/2: Devising Drama (internally assessed). Students will create a portfolio and a performance inspired by a stimulus (a starting point). They can take on the role of performance or designer. The performance is out of 20 marks, the portfolio out of 40 marks. 30% of final grade.

Component 3: Presenting and Performing Texts (externally assessed). A performance showcase for a visiting examiner, you perform two extracts from one play. Learners can take on the role of performer or designer. 60 marks. 30% of final grade.

Component 4: Performance and response (externally assessed). Section A consists of short answer questions relating to the study of a play, ‘Blood Brothers’. You’ll be considering what choices you would make if you were the actor playing the part, how you could use sound, set, light and costume to stage that scene. Section B is an extended response, analysing and evaluating a live drama performance. That means a trip to the theatre! 80 marks. 40% of final grade.

What skills do I need?

Experience from drama lessons at KS3 is a good starting point to study drama at GCSE level.  Students need to be confident, committed and well-organised as well as be open to learning new things and try out new ideas.

What can I progress on to?

Students can go on to study OCR Drama and Theatre at A level. This course allows students to explore and apply their knowledge of the process of creating and developing drama and theatre to their own performance work. They study either performance or design skills in depth, according to their own interests.

GCSE Music

Qualification: GCSE Music (Examination Board Eduqas – www.eduqas.co.uk) (External link)

What will I study?

Students work in the three areas of listening, performing and composing.  Performing and composing (which builds on the improvisation and chord work of Years 8 and 9) are completed as coursework and submitted as recordings which are assessed at the end of the course.  The use of recorded work not only gives opportunities for the specialist musician to excel, but also students who, up to now, have not considered themselves as music readers and writers to present coursework to a high standard.

Successful students have to develop music-reading skills, be confident in the use of musical terminology, enjoy making music and listening to many styles. Music at examination level offers those with an interest the opportunity to turn what could just be a hobby into a highly academic and worthwhile qualification.

How will I be assessed?

• Component 1: Performing Music – coursework (30%)
• – Performance 1: Solo performance
• – Performance 2: Ensemble performance

Performances can be on any instrument and/or voice and in any style/genre. Both pieces must last a minimum of 4 minutes.

• Component 2: Composing Music – practical work (30%)
• Composition 1: Composition to an exam board brief
• Composition 2: Free composition in a style of choice
• Component 3: Appraising – written exam (40%)
• – 1 hour 15 minutes listening exam
• – Eight questions in total, two on each of the four areas of study. Area of study 1: Musical Forms and Devices Area of study 2: Music for Ensemble Area of study 3: Film Music Area of study 4: Popular Music

What skills do I need?

Basic keyboard skills are required – class work in KS3 will aid this. The ability to be able to work both individually and as part of an ensemble is key.  Finally, having a willingness to learn new skills such as how to use notation software like Sibelius is important.

What can I progress on to?

Many students who study GCSE Music progress on to study Music at A Level. You could also study AS and A2 Music Technology or BTEC Music Performance and Music Production.

KS5 Curriculum

There are currently five course options you can take at KS5: A Level Fine Art (Eduqas), A Level Textiles, A Level Photography, A Level Drama and Music (Eduqas). Students have ten hours a fortnight for a subject at KS5. 

Please see the links to the sixth form website for further information about these courses. You can also contact members of the faculty for further information.