The Performing Arts curriculum champions the belief that every student, regardless of background, ability, or circumstance, deserves the opportunity to explore, excel, and express themselves through music and drama. We are committed to nurturing confident, creative individuals by fostering three areas of growth: awareness of Self, World, and The Arts.  Awareness of Self:

Through drama and music, students are encouraged to explore their identity, build empathy, and unlock their creative potential. In drama, they engage in roleplay, improvisation, and scripted performance to investigate human experience and emotion. Learners develop critical soft skills such as collaboration, leadership, and communication, preparing them to become reflective performers and confident contributors to society.  Awareness of the World:  Using music and drama as tools for exploration, students engage with social, cultural, and historical issues. From Brechtian theatre to ensemble work, they examine how the arts challenge perceptions and inspire change.  Awareness of the Arts: By studying influential texts, plays, and musical works, students gain a deep appreciation of artistic expression. We celebrate the richness of the performing arts and aim to grow a thriving cultural centre within our school and wider community.

At the heart of our Drama curriculum is the belief that every student deserves the opportunity to develop their voice, both literally and figuratively, through the art of performance. Through our concepts of Participation; Create, Perform and Appreciate, we aim to cultivate confident, articulate students who use drama as a powerful tool for communication and self-expression. With a focus on oracy and literacy, we empower students to articulate their thoughts, emotions, and ideas clearly and persuasively, both on stage and in everyday life.  Our curriculum is designed to build a strong foundation in spoken language, where students not only learn the techniques of performance but also refine their verbal and non-verbal communication skills. Through structured dialogue, improvisation, and scripted work, students engage in the analysis and delivery of rich, diverse texts that expand their vocabulary, comprehension, and creative expression. 

By exploring key theatrical forms and practitioners, students will learn how to use language to shape characters, convey meaning, and respond to the world around them. Whether through the rhythm of Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter, the precision of Stanislavski’s techniques, or the expressive power of physical theatre, our students will develop their oracy to communicate with clarity, confidence, and creativity.  By Year 11, students will be equipped with not only the performance skills to succeed in GCSE Drama but also the literacy and oracy tools to excel in all areas of life—confident in their ability to speak, listen, and engage with the world. Above all, we aim for MEA Central students to leave with a deep appreciation for the power of language and its role in shaping their future

The Key Stage 3 curriculum aims to build confidence and cooperation skills, crucial to students creating collaborative and creative work developing them as performers. Each Unit plan includes focuses on: Participation; Knowledge; Create; Perform and Evaluate, which work alongside the big ideas. These are interleaved throughout our knowledge rich curriculum and revisited to build on knowledge and understanding.

Students explore a range of characters from Noughts and Crosses texts, Commedia dell’arte, Theatre in Education and when exploring practitioners such as Stanislavski and Brecht. Practical exploration allows our students to revisit strategies and performance conventions when studying Devised Theatre, Greek Theatre, Physical Theatre and Shakespeare. We introduce a different performance text for years 8 and 9, including Blood Brothers, Two Billion Beats, The Tempest and Noughts and Crosses. Finally, each lesson always includes a chance to evaluate and begin to analyse, allowing our students to take ownership of their work, set targets and celebrate achievements using technical vocabulary.

Year 7 Drama Curriculum

Year 8 Drama Curriculum

Year 9 Drama Curriculum

At Key Stage 4 our Drama curriculum shifts to in-depth exploration of the more complex concepts that were first introduced at Key Stage 3. Each unit allows students to learn and implement new information and techniques to their skill-set. Students study the role practitioners and theatre companies play in using and applying styles and genres from historical theatre. They explore the likes of Frantic Assembly and build on more challenging ideas from Key Stage 3 practitioners Brecht and Stanislavski. Students grapple with new ways of performing theatre, embedding production elements such as lighting and sound into their own assessed work, and learning to appreciate the range of roles in the theatre: they can choose to be assessed as a set, costume or lighting designer as well as performer.

Students build on their knowledge of theatre venues and spaces by performing in a range of seating styles to suit the needs of a performance, such as theatre in the round or traverse. Students complete the course as well-rounded performers with a secure understanding of the collaborative roles within the theatre. With this GCSE, students become expert communicators: they can access A-Level, BTEC and Undergraduate training in their chosen theatrical field, or take their excellent communication skills with them into other areas of study and work.

Year 10 Drama Curriculum 

Year 11 Drama Curriculum