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Drama & Theatre Studies

A Level

drama students in action

Availability & Details

Drama & Theatre Studies - A Level HF1-DRTSAL/C01

Venue
Havant Campus

Type of study
A Levels

Dates
Academic Year 2025-26 (2 years)

Examination board
WJEC (Formerly Welsh Joint Education Committee)

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Overview

This is an exciting course offering a practical, challenging programme of study which is intended to ensure that you gain a comprehensive appreciation of the nature of drama and theatre. You will develop an understanding of how the social, cultural and historic contexts of a theatrical text have influenced the development of drama and theatre. You will also be given the opportunity to develop the creativity and independence to become effective theatre makers through acting and/or theatre design.You will experience a range of opportunities to create theatre in both text-based and devised work. You will also be encouraged to understand the collaborative relationship between various roles within theatre and participate both as theatre-makers and as audience members of live theatre. This course should enable you to develop a thorough and expert appreciation of drama and theatre. The content is stimulating, relevant and accessible to a wide range of learners, ensuring both breadth and depth to the study of drama and theatre. The structure allows students to work practically as theatre-makers and demonstrate their ability to draw together different areas of knowledge and understanding from across the full course of study.

Five GCSEs at grade 4 or above including English Language and Mathematics. An audition is required.

Theatre Workshop – You will participate in the creation, development and performance of a piece of theatre based on a reinterpretation of an extract from a text. You will produce for assessment a final performance and a creative log.  Text in Action – You will participate in the creation, development and performance of two pieces of theatre, one of which is devised.  Text in Performance – You will sit a timed exam, based on three different texts studied in class over the two years.

The course is taught through practitioner workshops, acting technique classes, lectures, visits to live theatre, and student centred discovery tasks and creative group work to develop and apply an informed, analytical framework for making, performing, interpreting and understanding Drama and Theatre. The teaching environment engages students in practical and contextual learning activities supported by digital media technologies. We have access to a number of Arts based e-resources such as Digital Theatre and Drama Online and provide students with on-line support materials such as Google Classroom which can be accessed via our online-pages on the virtual learning environment. To enrich the learning experience, practical work underpins contextual practitioner studies to provide experiential tasks and a knowledge base of theatre styles and historical and contemporary influences upon the performing arts. HSDC boasts a fully functioning theatre space equipped with sound and lighting technologies at professional standard. The Drama department has its own Drama studio and Drama Hall. Rooms are equipped with IT facilities to compliment teaching sessions 

Practical performance assessments, reflective and evaluative creative project log, timed final written exam.

Playscripts and Theatre visits

Students can progress on to Higher Education courses in drama and theatre, performing, English and humanities. Alternatively, you may wish to move on to Drama School.

Teaching staff have received professional training at drama schools including Arts Ed, RADA, LAMDA, Royal Central school of Speech and Drama and Birmingham School of acting and regularly attend staff development workshops to update skills and embrace new developments in the industry.


College is definitely worth all the effort you put in, you get to meet lots of different people and it’s amazing.

Ebony Puttock, A Level student

“HSDC provided me with the opportunity for autonomous study and the choice of subjects that I wanted to study, which helped me develop relevant knowledge as well as relevant skills for the workplace.”

Lucas Ratcliffe, A Level and CTEC student

I overcame a couple of barriers by working really hard to get the top grades. My experience was really good, with the course and the lecturers, the residentials and activities, together it was all really good. I had really great teaching support, I could always go to the lecturers and speak to them if I needed to.

David Stenning, Public Services student