So GCSE drama is so much better than Key Stage 3 drama because everyone who is in the class has chosen it.
It is a lot of group work and performance to the class most lessons.
Depending on the exam board, usually about 60% is practical and 40% is written work.
There are options to do one of the practical sections as a technical skill (lighting, sound, costume design) but they tend to be the exception and so pupils that do that, have to really manage their workload with guidance only.
You need to be able to learn lines. Inherent in it is 'fear and risk' - you have to get on stage and you don't know what might happen - and you have to do it anyway.
For me, I was a quiet young person, and I loved the subject, how my teachers taught it and the class I was in. I can truthfully tell you that drama was where I found my voice.
I went on to be a school drama teacher for 17 years and GCSE drama remains my favourite thing to teach - there is so much scope for creativity and trying different theatre styles.
BUT there are some spectacularly bad drama teachers out there (it seems to be either you have an amazing drama department or a crap one and not much in the middle). So I would have a look at the past results, how long has the drama teacher been there (you don't want a high turnover in a department) , what are the quality of the school productions.