Expressive Arts

The expressive arts faculty at Charles Darwin offers a varied and immersive curriculum.  Click the subjects to find out more.

Click here for Dance curriculum mapping

Click here for Drama curriculum mapping

Click here for Music curriculum mapping

Dance

Course overview

Dance is delivered at both GCSE and A-Level through the AQA board.

GCSE is 60% practical and 40% written. A focus on solo performance, group dances and theory work supports the main units in this course. GCSE students study six anthology professional dance works to help understand Dance and Choreography and the range of Dance Styles used in the industry today.

Students work on improving their critical appreciation of Dance productions, technique, choreographic and performance skills in lessons for their final assessments in Year 11.

GCSE includes:

Component 1: Performance and Choreography

• Solo performance
• Duet/trio performance
• Choreography showing a response to one chosen stimulus from a prescribed list (solo or group)

Component 2: Dance Appreciation

• 1 ½ hour written exam: knowledge and understanding of choreographic process and performing skills; critical appreciation of own work and of professional works
   

A-Level is 50% practical and 50% written. It is a 2 year course that teaches students how to compose, perform and appreciate dance to an advanced level. The content of a range of professional dance works are studied and students also consider the context from which they come and their surrounding Area of Study. The lessons compromise of both theoretical and practical activities and cover a range of dance genres, from varying cultures and origins.

A Level includes

Component 1

• Solo performance linked to a specific practitioner within an Area of Study
• Performance in a quartet

Component 2

• 2 ½ hour written exam: Knowledge understanding and critical appreciation of two set works - Rooster by Christpher Bruce and Sutra by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and their location within their corresponding areas of study (Rambert Dance Company 1966-2002 and the Independent Dance Scene in Britain 2000-current).

Why choose the subject?

• Learn to express yourself creatively
• To follow a career in the performance industry (performer/teacher/choreographer/dance critic/working in theatre)
• To explore challenging styles of Dance 
• To learn about the Dance industry today
• To work with others and create interesting work
• To build a love of performing
• To improve fitness, coordination, rhythm and problem solving
• To improve organisation and self-discipline

Common Questions

Q. In which year will I start to learn Dance?
A. Year 7

Q. Do we learn street dance?
A. Maybe. We may learn street dance as a style but it is not the focus of the GCSE. A Level does not cater for street dance.

Q. Is there much written work?
A. Yes. Written work is embedded within the practical elements of the course. Homework is set most weeks which involves researching and writing. Writing is also done in lesson at times.

Q. Are there any trips?
A. Trips are arranged throughout the year to see profressional dance and theatre performances. There are also performance oppotunities for X-Tol, the school's dance company, so if this is a passion please audition for the company and see Miss Abbotts.

Useful links

AQA GCSE Dance Specification

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/dance/gcse/dance-8236

AQA A Level Dance Specification

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/dance/as-and-a-level/dance-7237

Youth Dance England

http://www.yde.org.uk/

Step Into Dance

http://www.stepintodance.org/

Sadlers Wells

http://www.sadlerswells.com/

The Place

http://www.theplace.org.uk/

Trinity Laban

http://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/

Drama

Course Overview

Year 7 topics:

• Waxworks (creating a whole class performance) 
• Bullying
• Shakespeare
• Animal rights and Children’s rights
• Devising from a stimulus

Year 8 topics:

• Comedy
• War Memorial (looking at WW1 and portraying realistic drama)
• ‘The Stones’ (exploring peer pressure and risky behaviour)
• Relationships (exploring issues around privacy, social media and looking at the features of a positive relationship)
• Identification (using a poem as a stimulus)
• Devising from a stimulus

GCSE Courses/Topics:

• Gang crime
• Physical theatre
• Use of masks to develop storytelling skills
• Devising from a stimulus
• The study of two theatre practitioners (Stanislavski and Brecht)
• Script work including duologues
• Study of a set text for written exam
• Evaluating live theatre
• Exploring performance elements and design elements.

Alevel Courses/Topics:

• Theatre history-from Ancient Greek Theatre to the 21st century
• Studying a rnage of theatre practitioners
• A group performance of a text
• Performing a monologue or a duologue
• Devising your own original piece of theatre
• Study of a two set texts.

Why Choose the Subject?

• Develop your ability to work with other people
• Express yourself creatively every lesson and develop your imagination
• Learn about different techniques and styles when creating Drama
• Develop your ability to reflect and evaluate your work and the work of others
• Develop your way of looking at the world, by exploring a variety of social and historical situations
• Valuable if considering a career in the Arts industry or if you want to perform in the future

Common Questions

Q.  Do I just need to be good at acting to do well in Drama?
A.  No. Successful Drama students are not just talented actors. To succeed you need to have high levels of concentration, be able to motivate others and lead a group as well as being able to work effectively with different people. It is important that you can empathise with others and consider the world around you. In order to do well in Drama you need to be confident as you will spend a lot of time giving ideas and offering your point of view as well as performing to an audience.

Q.  Will I be expected to perform every lesson?
A.  You will be expected to perform with other people, however not every Drama lesson will be focused on performance i.e. you might be brainstorming ideas or working closely with others to explore an idea, an issue or a theme. You will not always be expected to perform in a group; you might be working as a whole class, in a pair or individually. 

At GCSE and A-Level you should expect to perform every lesson, even if it is sharing work in progress.

Q.  Will I have to write in Drama?
A.  Yes! Being able to write about the creative process, evaluate practical work and write imaginatively about character development are all important skills in Drama. At KS3 you will be expected to produce written homework and written evaluations of work completed in class. At GCSE level, there is more of a focus on written work and you should expect to have regular classroom lessons where you will write about the developmental process of your drama as well as studying a play.

Q.  Is Drama seen as a valuable subject?
A.  Many people opt to take Drama because they enjoy the collaborative nature of the subject. Drama is beneficial in the sense that you gain a wide variety of life skills; be it voicing your opinion, working with others or exploring serious ideas in a creative manner. It is a subject that is recognised for how it develops a student’s creativity, co-operation skills and your outlook on the world through exploring different situations in your own individual fashion.

GCSE and A-level Drama has a stronger focus on the theory behind Drama and theatre as well as different acting techniques and styles. These are explored practically, however as you progress up the school there are increasingly more academic and theoretical ideas that underpin these concept.. 

Q.  Are there any extra-curricular activities I can get involved in?
A.  Auditions are open to all students for the school production in the autumn term. There is also a lower school production in the summer term open to all students in Year 7, 8 and 9. At GCSE and A-Level regular theatre trips are organised to introduce students to a variety of performance spaces, styles and playwrights.

Useful Links

National Theatre

Young Vic

A-Level specification
GCSE specification
GCSE revision

Music

Course Overview

Music is delivered across all three key stages. In the foundation years projects are taught with a focus on the three main areas of Performing, Composing and Listening & Appraising. In years 7 and 8 projects cover a broad range of topics, from World Music to Western Classical styles, as well as Popular Music styles. All of these projects are linked with the key stage 3 National Curriculum for Music, and are designed to give students a broad knowledge of music styles and genres as well as to challenge and develop their skills in performance, composition and listening & appraising.

At Key Stage 4 students may study GCSE Music or BTEC Music, and at Key Stage 5 students may study A Levels in both Music and Music Technology. Music at both GCSE and A Level continues to develop skills in Performing and Composing through the creation of coursework pieces, and Listening skills in exam elements of the course. Students will also develop their analytical skills through the study of set works in the A Level course.

The A Level course in Music Technology comprises of the completion of a portfolio of coursework including: Sequencing tasks (pieces created using specialist software on computers); Arranging tasks (creating original new versions of existing music); Recording tasks (recording projects completed in our Music Recording Studio). In addition to this, students will develop their knowledge of popular music styles, as well as production techniques, which is then tested in an exam setting.

Year 7 projects/topics:

A Level Music Technology Units

• Music Technology Portfolio – 70% (AS) 60% (A2). This is a portfolio of coursework comprising of three tasks in each year. At the AS level, students will complete a Sequencing, Arranging and Multi-track Recording task. At the A2 level, students will complete a Sequenced Integrated task, a Composition task and a Multi-track Recording.

Why choose to study Music Technology?

• You will have a keen interest and an analytical curiosity about how music is recorded, edited, manipulated and created from a Technological perspective.
• You enjoy working on long-term projects, where a coursework tasks evolves over a long period of time.
• You will develop confidence, communication and organisational skills, while arranging and leading your recording sessions with musicians.
• You will learn how to apply technical techniques to your own music, and will develop your creativity in Arranging and Composition tasks.
• You will develop a broad and extensive knowledge of Popular music styles, and how these styles exploit the use of technology in their recordings and production.

Common Questions

Q. In which year do I start to learn Music?
A. All students study Music in Years 7 and 8. Music is available to choose as an option from Year 9 onwards.

Q. Can I have instrumental or singing lessons at Charles Darwin School?
A. We offer a wide range of instrumental and singing lessons at the school. Students interested in these lessons will need to fill in an application form, which details the fees for these lessons. Instrumental and Singing lessons take place during the school day, and students will come out of their lessons in order to attend. Lessons rotate each week to avoid regularly missing the same subject.

Q. What kind of extra-curricular clubs happen in the Music Department?
A. The music department is a very busy place in terms of its extra-curricular events. There are regular Music Concerts for students to take part in, either as a soloist or as part of an ensemble. We have many different ensembles ranging from choirs, to woodwind ensembles or the school’s new Samba Band. In the Autumn term students have the opportunity to take part in our school production, which takes place at Christmas. Recent productions have included Hairspray, Guys and Dolls and Back to the 80s.

Useful Links

Musicroom

Sheet Music Direct

Music at School

DSO Kids

Musicland