CourseInformation aboutGCSEDrama

ExaminationDetails
AQA 3241

AssessmentDetails
1writtenexamination(40%) 1performancecoursework(60%) 1tierofentryforallpupils

CourseInformation
WrittenExamination/Unit1(40%) Thewrittenpapercomprisesthreesections: A Practicalworkcompletedduringthecourse; B Studyandperformanceofascriptedplay C Studyofalivetheatreproductionseen CandidatesmustanswerQuestion1fromSectionAandchooseonefurtherquestionfromeitherSectionB orSectionC. PerformanceCoursework/Unit2(60%): ThecourseworkisinternallyassessedandmoderatedbyAQA. Candidatesarerequiredtopresentpracticalworkfortwooptions.Thechoiceoftwooptionsmustenable candidatestoexperiencebothscriptedandunscriptedwork.Groupsofoptionsforeachcategoryarelisted below. Twoofthefollowingoptions,onlyoneofwhichmaybeatechnical/designskill: 1.Devisedthematicworkforperformancetoanaudience 2.Acting 3.TheatreinEducationpresentation 4.Improvisation 5.Dance/drama 6.Set 7.Costume 8.Makeup 9.Properties 10.Masks 11.Puppets 12.Lighting 13.Sound 14.Stagemanagement Eachoptionisassessedthroughpreparatorywork,endproductandawrittenevaluationoftheprocess. Internallyassessedandexternallymoderated. Workinprogress(15marks);Finalpresentation:either performanceordemonstration/artefact(s)(45marks). PupilsmustattendatleastoneorganisedTheatretripinYear10andanotherinYear11.Thesetripsarea compulsorypartofthecourse.

StepstoSuccess inGCSEDrama
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Be enthusiastic in lessons Have a go! You must attend all lessons and rehearsals (lunchtime and after school) to avoid letting others down in group assessment situations. Be supportive of others performance work. You can learn a lot from evaluating the work of other people. Be organised about looking after the notes and scripts you are given. Complete all written tasks diligently. This will help you in your coursework and final examination. Attend as much live theatre as possible. You live in London, theatre capital of the world! Be the leader do not be afraid to initiate ideas. Listen to everyones ideas and select the best ones to try out. Listen to the advice of your teachers and act upon it. Think about the emotions of the character. Can you imagine how they feel? Think about your voice: pitch, pace and volume. Think about your body language, posture, facial expressions and gestures. Keep a journal of all the lessons in which you participate. Explain the skills you are learning or developing. Make sure you keep a record of the ideas you contributed and how others responded to those ideas and how you respond to the ideas of others.

Usefulwebsites:
http://theater.nytimes.com/ http://www.whatsonstage.com/ http://web.aqa.org.uk/qual/newgcses/art_dan_dra_mus/new/drama_overview.php?id=05&prev=05 http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/discover http://www.franticassembly.co.uk/ http://getrevising.co.uk/resources/drama_gcse

CourseInformation aboutGCSEMusic
ExaminationDetails
Edexcel 1426

AssessmentDetails
ControlledAssessment 2performancesand2compositions(60%) WrittenExamination ListeningPaper(40%)

CourseInformation
Component1Performing(30%) Inthismoduleyouwillbeexpectedtoperformonesolopieceandoneensemblepiece.Thiscanbe rehearsedandperformed/recordedatanytimeduringthecourse.Youareabletouseanyinstrument and/orvoicethatyoulike.YoucanalsouseGarageBand asyourinstrumentbysubmittingasequenced performance,andrecordothersaspartofyourEnsemblesubmissionintheroleofSoundEngineer. PerformancesaremarkedbytheTeacherExaminerandmoderatedexternally. Component2Composing(30%) Inthispaperpupilsdevelopmusicalideasintheformofcompositionsorarrangements.Theycomposetwo contrastingpieceslastingatleasttwominutes.Bothpiecesarecomposedaccordingtoabriefwhichmay besetbytheteacherorchosenbythecandidate.Thebriefshouldbelinkedtooneofthetopicstaken fromoneoftheareasofstudylistedbelow.Thecompositionswillbemarkedbytheteacherexaminerand moderatedexternally. Component3ListeningandAppraisingexamination(40%) Inthispaperpupilssitanexaminationlasting1hour30minutes.Studentsmustrespondtoeightlistening questionsbasedonthetwelvesetworks,andansweroneoftwoessayquestions.
AREAOFSTUDY1 AREAOFSTUDY2 WesternClassicalMusic Musicofthe20th 16001899 Century
Baroque,Classical andRomantic composers Handel:Messiah Mozart:Symphony 40 Chopin:Prelude15 Expressionism Minimalism BroadwayMusical Schonberg: Peripetie Bernstein:West SideStory Reich:Electric Counterpoint

AREAOFSTUDY3 PopularMusicin Context

12BarBlues AmericanFolkMusic Technological influences MDavis:AllBlues JBuckley:Grace Moby:Whydoesmy heartfeelsobad?

AREAOFSTUDY4 WorldMusic
BritishFolkMusic IndianRag AfricanDrumming Capercaillie:Skye Waulking Song AShankar:RagDesh Koko:Yiri

ControlledAssessmentinformation: OneSoloandoneEnsemblePerformance.Studentsmaysubmitsequencedsoloperformanceanda recordingintheroleofsoundengineerinsteadofperforminglive. TwocompositionstobecompletedattheendofYear10andSpringTerminYear11.Studentsmustsubmit arecordingandamanuscriptorwrittencommentary. Allcontrolledassessmentwillbemarkedbytheteacherexaminerandexternalmoderators.

StepstoSuccess inGCSEMusic
1 Arrange to have individual instrumental tuition the performing component is worth 30% of the course! Choose your performance pieces well in advance. This should be a piece which you enjoy playing and is well within your capabilities, although level of difficulty should be taken into account. Organise as many opportunities as possible to perform in public. This will help build your confidence and give you experience of performing in front of an audience. Join as many extra curricular groups as you can. Get into the good habit of practising every day. Undertaking regular practice is by far the most effective method for improvement. Learn all of the key vocabulary from each topic thoroughly; the more words you know, the better! Listen to a wide variety of music e.g. Radio 3, Classic FM, Jazz FM etc. If you make the effort to listen to as many forms of Music as you can, it will make the course more enjoyable. Go to Classical Concerts (the Hounslow Music Service provides free tickets to GCSE music students for their concerts). The Music Department now has sequencing and score-writing software (GarageBand, Logic and Sibelius 6) available on Apple Mac computers. Make as much use of this as you can to help you to produce good quality compositions. Use lunchtimes and after school to get involved in music making inside school and to receive additional help for your compositions. Make friends with as many performers in school as you can. You never know when you might need them! Listen to the set works until you are familiar with them. Understand how the pieces are constructed using the musical elements. Construct diagrams, e.g. spider diagrams, to help you visualise each set work and its components.

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Usefulwebsites:
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/index.htm Interactive Keyboard http://www.good-ear.com/ Ear trainer http://www.edexcel.com/quals/gcse/gcse09/music/Pages/default.aspx Edexcel music http://www.gmajormusictheory.org/Fundamentals/workbooks.html Music theory, Basic http://www.musictheory.net/lessons Music theory, Intermediate/ advanced