The Department's Facilities
Mayflower’s Drama and Theatre Studies department is highly successful with impressive examination results. The experienced teaching team comprises 3 full-time specialists. Accommodation consists of a full-size Drama Studio and an adjacent large classroom plus one other carpeted classroom. Within the last few years the Drama Studio has undergone considerable refurbishment, including a new floor, an impressive lighting system and black curtains. This underpins the commitment the school has for improving the Drama facilities.
Schemes of Work and Assessment
The department has worked considerably hard during the last two years at developing schemes of work at both Key Stage Three and Key Stage Four. Assessment is well integrated into all schemes of work. The department is working on creating user-friendly NC level criteria for the students.
Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4
At Key Stage 3, Drama is taught in a carousel system in Years 7 & 8. This means that students study Drama for one term, 6 times a fortnight. This will apply to Year 9 as well from next year.
Drama is always a popular subject at Key Stage 4 and we currently have over 50 students in Year 10 and over 40 in Year 11 studying Drama to a higher level.
‘A’ Level Drama and Theatre Studies
We currently have 17 students following the AS/A2 Drama and Theatre Studies course (8113/9113). The new styled Units offer the students the chance to follow the course practically with coursework to back up their work and one written examination at the end of Year 12 and Year 13. Practical examination performances have included ‘The Crucible’, ‘The Kinder Transport’, ‘Shakers’ and ‘Top Girls’. In 2007, Year 12 students performed in ‘Blue Remembered Hills’ and ‘Blood Brothers’ and were thrilled that 10 out of 16 students gained full marks for their performances; a true testament to their talent.
Examination Results
In 2007 ‘A’ Level Theatre Studies achieved a 100% pass rate. This has been achieved each year. At GCSE level 100% of students gained an A – G grade, with 60% achieving A-C. We are very proud of our examination results.
Extra-Curricular Activities
The department believes in an extensive and comprehensive extra-curricular programme. We organise a number of theatre visits throughout the year enabling students from all Key Stages to experience live professional theatre. We pride ourselves on the quality of the extra-curricular productions we produce. Since 2000, large scale productions have included ‘Millennium Tales’, part of the JC 2000 celebrations, ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘Johnny and the Dead’ and ‘Bugsy Malone’. The next whole school production, in collaboration with the Music, Dance and Art departments, is ‘Annie’, scheduled for June 2007.
BTEC 1 st Certificate in Performing Arts (Acting)
Since September 2005, Key Stage 4 students have had the opportunity to participate in this course and it is already proving very popular with over 40 students in Years 10 and 11. The students do 3 practical assessments over the 2 years and so far have performed in very successful pantomimes and extracts from ‘Mother Courage’ and ‘Matchgirls’. The students also keep folders with regular updates of the rehearsal process as another part of their assessment. We are looking forward to the Year 10 pantomimes of ‘Snow White’ and ‘Aladdin’ in February 2007.
Drama 
