Drama Subject Philosophy

‘Oh yes, we do Drama here – you should have seen our school play this year!’ Such a comment is well known in schools – and it is certainly true here at Copthorne, for our school productions are known to be of an exceptionally high standard – but it misses the point of what Drama is all about in schools, and the great potential it has to support children’s educational, social and physical development. Drama at Copthorne is not just about rehearsing for a school play, important and beneficial though that is; it is about expressing one’s feelings, improvising, developing social skills, articulating one’s opinion, responding to others, building relationships, exploring one’s imagination and so on.

To ensure we gain the most potential from this important subject, Drama at Copthorne is divided into two main strands: Educational Drama and Performance Drama

Educational Drama: With drama time written into the curriculum as discrete lessons in the timetable for all year groups, Copthorne pupils are given opportunities every week to work on a range of drama skills and talents, free from the constraints of preparing for a specific play, which offers some children greater parts than others. The curriculum is divided into three areas, and these are: Physical Drama, Spoken Drama, Scripted Drama

These three curriculum strands are taught within drama settings – that is to say within the context of a drama theme for each term. These themes range from ‘The Rainforest’ to ‘The Haunted House’. Many themes are deliberately linked to the children’s set texts that are studied in English lessons.

Performance Drama: This area of Drama is concerned with rehearsing and performing actual productions, from small-scale reviews and sketches in the theatre to much larger school productions in the sports hall. Our philosophy is one of inclusion, that is to say we encourage (but do not coerce) all pupils to take a part in our productions, whether it is on stage, behind the scenes or front of house. Each year, we hope that every child has had the opportunity to be part of something special.