Drama
Across all year groups, Drama is driven by ambition, challenge and increasing sophistication
In Year 7, ambition is established from the very beginning through high expectations and consistent challenge. Students work with a variety of groups and take on different creative roles – performer, director, designer and critic – while exploring contrasting styles such as comedy and serious drama so that no one remains in their comfort zone.
They create short 3-5 minute plays and are introduced to meaningful, age-appropriate themes such as bullying, often linking their learning to subjects like PSHE, Philosophy and RE.
From the outset, students are expected to write in depth, completing homework, classwork and structured written tasks with clear word counts that reflect future GCSE and A-Level standards. They also have regular opportunities to perform in front of an audience, building confidence and resilience, while beginning to engage with live theatre through accessible trips and carefully selected online productions supported by the department.
Years 8-11 - expanding scale and depth
As students' progress, both the scale and depth of their work expand – from short, scripted pieces in Year 7 to substantial performances of up to 25 minutes by Year 11. The thematic content matures significantly, tackling complex and thought-provoking issues such as suicide and religious extremism, often connecting meaningfully with subjects including Sociology, Philosophy and Religious Education.
Students continue to work across a wide range of performance styles and creative responsibilities, ensuring breadth of experience and artistic growth. Written analysis becomes more rigorous over time, mirroring GCSE and A-Level specifications through extended responses and formal assessments.
Performance opportunities also widen, with older students presenting their work to more critical audiences and to younger year groups, modelling excellence, raising aspiration and making success visible within the department.
Jasmine, Year 9, talks about drama at HLAW
Khadija writes about Drama at HLAW
"Studying Drama is honestly an amazing and unique experience – one which has played a massive part in my character. It has aided me in boosting my confidence and finding myself which I feel has not only helped me in my secondary school experience so far, but it has given me skills which I will take with me through life. Drama lessons are one of the few classes which I truly remember. Therefore, if I were to tell anyone about Drama in one word I would use 'memorable'. Drama is my favourite subject."
Example of Khadija’s work
Below is an extract from Khadija's portfolio, in which she writes about devising a play based on a stimulus.
"Our chosen stimulus is the moon and earth image. Before this conclusion, we explored all the stimuli, researched TIE (Theatre in Education) and the effects of it in plays. We also explored Brechtian techniques and how he uses it in his plays to show socio-political lessons. He also uses epic theatre which is didactic and makes audience thinks about certain issues, which is one of the impacts we want to leave on our audience.
"We conducted research about certain topics which would be seen as appropriate to our target audience of Year 5 students. We as a group decided our topic should be around bullying and self-acceptance as although it is a serious topic it is something which is common to our target audience and they could be exposed to. Our main character is an alien girl who's come to Earth as she faces hardships, bullying and various emotions which are still relevant to them. Overall, our message to the Year 5s will be to find self-acceptance for themselves and others."
"Studying Drama is an amazing and unique experience." Khadija, student
Curriculum Overviews
Drama
| General Documents |
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| Harris Willesden Curriculum overviews Performing Arts Y7 11 2025 6 |