{"id":73,"date":"2019-12-29T23:57:13","date_gmt":"2019-12-29T23:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/gc\/kpsscurricularpathways\/?page_id=73"},"modified":"2025-11-25T20:03:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T20:03:20","slug":"pathways-to-the-senior-phase-drama","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/gc\/kpsscurricularpathways\/curricular-areas\/expressive-arts\/pathways-to-the-senior-phase-drama\/","title":{"rendered":"Pathways to the Senior Phase: Drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

Drama develops pupils\u2019 creativity and the ability to express <\/span><\/span>themselves<\/span><\/span> using characterisation skills <\/span><\/span>including<\/span><\/span> voice and movement, as well as technical skills when approaching <\/span><\/span>t<\/span><\/span>heatre design. Transferrable skills such as<\/span><\/span> communicating, researching and presenting information, reflecting, evaluating and using media and digital technology prepare pupils for both further education and the world of work.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

National 4\/5 Drama<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Pupils complete the following two units: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Drama Skills<\/span><\/span>: Pupils use their creative skills to devise and write their own pieces of theatre. The<\/span><\/span>y<\/span><\/span> learn how to develop characters in a range of ways and develop understanding of form, structure and style. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Production Skills<\/span><\/span>: Pupils explore a variety of design skills in Lighting, Sound, Set, Costume, Props and Make-up design. Pupils work with scripts to realise design ideas as well as perform extracts to an audience.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Higher Drama<\/h1>\n

Recommended Entry Requirements\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>Pass at National 5
\n<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Students in S6 who have been successful at National 5 or Higher English<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

The Higher course builds on the skills developed in National 5 and covers the same two units <\/span><\/span>in<\/span><\/span> greater depth:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Drama Skills<\/span><\/span>: Pupils create and present their own pieces as before but at higher have the responsibility of directing other class members. They explore characterisation at a much deeper level in preparation for performance.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Production Skills<\/span><\/span>: Pupils explore more complex design concepts and work with larger extracts of text.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Advanced Higher Drama<\/h1>\n

Recommended Entry Requirements <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>Recommended g<\/span><\/span>rades A or B at Higher Level<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

The Advanced Higher course looks at Devising and Presenting in detail and in conjunction with esteemed <\/span><\/span>t<\/span><\/span>heatre <\/span><\/span>p<\/span><\/span>ractitioners. Pupils create and lead workshops inspired by a variety of theatre styles as well as analysing relevant theatre productions. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Assessment<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

National 4: Internally assessed <\/span><\/span>practical unit covering either acting o<\/span><\/span>r a choice of design techniques. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

National 5: Externally as<\/span><\/span>sessed practical exam worth 60%, w<\/span><\/span>ritten ex<\/span><\/span>am worth 40% of the final grade.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Higher: Externally as<\/span><\/span>sessed practical exam worth 60%, w<\/span><\/span>ritten ex<\/span><\/span>am worth 40% of the final grade.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Adv.<\/span><\/span> Higher: External<\/span><\/span>ly assessed practical worth 60%, project <\/span><\/span>d<\/span><\/span>issertat<\/span><\/span>ion worth 40% of the final grade.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Progression <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Future career paths could include a wide range of opportunities within the creative industries and beyond such as; Actor\/Actress, Stage Designer, Costum<\/span><\/span>e Designer, Director, Producer, <\/span><\/span>Stage Manager, <\/span><\/span>Drama Therapist, <\/span><\/span>m<\/span><\/span>ake-Up Artist, Youth Drama Worker, Primary & Secondary Teacher, Retail Management and Public Relations. Higher Drama is also a preferred additional Higher for the study of Medicine and Law at several universities.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

NPA Musical Theatre<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The National Progression Award (NPA) in Musical Theatre (SCQF level 6) offers you the opportunity to develop your skills in the areas of acting, music and dance, all in the context of musical theatre.<\/p>\n

The NPA also provides the specific skills, knowledge and resources that may be called on when preparing for auditions for entry to musical theatre, drama or music courses and\/or the theatre or performing arts profession.<\/p>\n

There are no specific entry requirements but you should have performing skills broadly equivalent to SCQF level 4 to access this award. It would be beneficial if you had some previous experience of a either a drama, dance, music theatre Course or Units, either in a school\/ college setting or, eg in youth or community arts performance.<\/p>\n

You need to successfully complete three Units in order to achieve the NPA in Musical Theatre:
\nThere is one mandatory Unit (at SCQF level 6):
\nActing through Song<\/p>\n

There are four optional Units from which you must choose two Units:
\n\u2666 Theatre Performers: Solo Singing Skills
\n\u2666 Theatre Performers: Group Singing Skills
\n\u2666 Group Dance Performance
\n\u2666 Preparation for Audition<\/p>\n

This NPA in Musical Theatre will give you a platform which could allow you to progress into further education and on to a National Certificate or HNC programme or help you to be better equipped to work in the performing arts industry.<\/p>\n

NPA Professional Theatre Practice<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Course Level:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Level 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

Entry requirements:<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is advisable that young people opting for this course have achieved a pass in N5 Drama.<\/p>\n

Course summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The NPA in Professional Theatre Practice is a qualification designed to provide learners with foundational skills and knowledge for working in the theatre industry. It focuses on practical and theoretical aspects of professional theatre including acting, technical theatre, production management and backstage roles.<\/p>\n

The course emphasises hands on experience, encouraging learners to develop essential skills such as collaboration, problem solving, communication and creativity. It often involves working on live performances, enabling students to understand the demands of professional theatre environments.<\/p>\n

The NPA is suitable for individuals aiming to pursue further education or a career in theatre and related industries, offering a stepping stone into HNDs, degrees, or entry level theatre roles.<\/p>\n

Assessment structure:<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are two unit which make up NPA Professional Theatre Preparation: Preparation for Audition and Acting Skills. There is no final exam for this NPA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Drama develops pupils\u2019 creativity and the ability to express themselves using characterisation skills including voice and movement, as well as technical skills when approaching theatre design. Transferrable skills such as communicating, researching and presenting information, reflecting, evaluating and using media and digital technology prepare pupils for both further education and the world of work. National … Continue reading “Pathways to the Senior Phase: Drama”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10274,"featured_media":0,"parent":14,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-73","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/gc\/kpsscurricularpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/gc\/kpsscurricularpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/gc\/kpsscurricularpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/gc\/kpsscurricularpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10274"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/gc\/kpsscurricularpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/gc\/kpsscurricularpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1063,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/gc\/kpsscurricularpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73\/revisions\/1063"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/gc\/kpsscurricularpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/gc\/kpsscurricularpathways\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}