Compulsory performance subject at GCSE

[CharismaticMegafauna]

For a non-artistic, non-sporty and non-musical child!

My son has just finished Year 8 at a state grammar school and will be choosing his GCSE options next year.

One of the options blocks is a perfomance subject. They have to choose between PE, Music, Art or Drama. I think the only one that he could realistically do is Drama. He's weak at team sports and hates Games, though he's a reasonable swimmer and runs long distances by himself (slowly). He doesn't play an instrument and doesn't enjoy music, nor is he artistic, and from what I've read GCSE Art is quite hard going even if you like Art.

I'm not sure about Drama. I think he would be OK with the analysing texts side of things as he is good at English. However, he hasn't shown any inclination to get involved with school productions or plays. He has ASD and I think he might find the teamwork aspect quite challenging. On the other hand, perhaps it would help him with things like public speaking and having to do presentations. He did an online debating course and enjoyed that.

I would be interested to hear other people's experiences of GCSE Drama (AQA), particularly if your teenager was not particularly interested in Drama or performing to start with.

Looking at last year's data, there were 6 students who didn't do a performance subject, so perhaps there is some leeway to get out of this.

At my state school drama and music have just been cut due to low numbers choosing it as an option subject. This is particularly hard for me as the drama teacher and I am on track to have the best results in the school.

Anyway, my opinion on drama is anyone can do it if they are willing. It’s as much about attitude as ability. I have taught every type of student including students with autism. I once had a mum tell me quite definitely that ‘her son couldn’t read expressions and communicate feelings on stage’. I can assure you he could and his grade 8 proved it.

Yes, students can do a technical option but check because some teachers are not confident offering it.

40% is from the written exam plus there is some writing attached to the practical elements. If he can write well (which I am sure he can) and has a willing class it is a possibility. If he does drama now - he will have an idea of what it’s like.

My DD did DT (design and technology) because she likes art but isn't arty. (Can't draw!)

She loved it , and got a 7 or an 8
Can't remember now

Thank you Cherryana - good to hear from a Drama teacher!

AQA GCSE drama is a good option.

The assessment is 70% academic - 40% written exam, 30% on the devising log which is a written piece of coursework.

The other 30% is practically assessed, but as pp have said can be set design/lighting/sound/costume/make up. Checking that the school offers the tech option is important as not all do- and those that do might not have large numbers doing it which will mean your DS has to be quite independently motivated to excel. Find out if the department has a technician- this can really help. Also get hold of the tech design text book (Amazon) which will really help if the teacher isn’t 100% confident.

The writing is different to English, in that the accent is always on performance (or design) in a practical real world sense instead of analysing language and literature. That said, at this stage, aptitude in English is a good measure- and in my experience they are very few grammar school students who couldn’t be taught to do well at gcse drama if they wanted.

My DS is about to start GCSE Drama, despite the fact I’ve never seen him act on stage! The school productions have been musicals and he says he’s never wanted to be in them as he can’t sing. But he has been involved backstage with sound/set building etc, so I think he’s hoping to do some more of that.