Drama

Drama at Ashville is stimulating and engaging; we inspire and motivate students to challenge themselves in the work they create. We teach the necessary performance skills required in order that students can respond to given stimuli in a creative manner.  The positive and nurturing atmosphere created in our Department ensures that students have the confidence and trust in which to fully develop their potential.

We have a superb purpose built Drama Studio which is used for all GCSE/AS/A2 lessons and most lower school lessons.  It is also used for Drama clubs and rehearsals.  The Drama office is used as a second teaching room for AS/A2.  GCSE and A level are taught exclusively by the Head of Department, Jo Normanshire (BA), with Mrs. Wendy Bennett (BA) being the primary teacher of lower school classes.

At Ashville, students have the opportunity to develop their ability from the word go with each form in Year 7, 8 and 9 having one timetabled lesson of Drama a week, taught in form groups. At GCSE Drama is an optional subject following the Edexcel specification. This has a very practical focus with 80% practical assessment. At Sixth form we offer AQA AS/A2 Theatre Studies as personal research has shown that it has a high academic standing with Universities in comparison to other exam boards.  Students regularly go on to Drama School or pursue Drama as all or part of their University degree, with mock interviews, workshops and audition preparation offered on an individual basis. Ashville offers many opportunities outside of lessons for students to be involved in Drama: weekly Drama clubs, annual Drama evenings and House Drama for Lower school; an annual senior production, House Drama and performance evenings for Years 10-U6.  We also hold an annual Drama Tour to primary schools for Years 11 and Sixth Form students. (see Drama – extra curricular webpage for more details)