New drama courses to reflect greater diversity
EXAM board WJEC says it has created more diverse and inclusive GCSE and A-level drama and theatre courses with 15 new texts.
New contemporary Welsh playwrights such as Dafydd James, Gwawr Loader, Bethan Marlow, and Alun Saunders have been added to the specifications.
The WJEC made the changes working with the London Theatre Consortium and their partners in the RinD (Representation in Drama) working group, to revamp its drama curriculum.
From next September pupils taking WJEC GCSE drama and A-level drama and theatre qualifications will be able to study a wide variety of texts from a range of cultural backgrounds and periods.
The texts have been chosen due to their varying genres, their inclusivity, and their contemporary themes to maintain the specification’s relevance, the WJEC said.
“The new texts tackle a wide range of themes, from acceptance of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conformity to ethnicity, migration, and coming of age.
“WJEC always try to include a wide range of interesting and challenging texts from different historical periods and different genres, however, this year felt it was more important than ever that the plays within the specifications reflected today’s society.
“The texts offer plenty of opportunity for reinterpretation due to their content, characters, and theatricality. Hopefully appealing to a wide crosssection of learners from different cultural and social backgrounds.”
Schools and colleges were surveyed to get their views on proposed set texts.
Beverley Roblin, WJEC’s principal examiner for GCSE Drama, who represented WJEC in the Diversifying the Curriculum Working Group, said: “I have been working with the Royal Court Theatre and London Theatre Consortium as part of their consultation panels since May 2017.
“The panel, involving members from a variety of creative industries was set up to support teachers across the country with exams, with influencing the teaching of new writing; particularly texts by females and playwrights from the global majority in the classroom and bridging the gap between industry and formal education.
“Over the past 18 months the panel has focused on representation across the drama curriculum, and they have worked with WJEC offering guidance in helping us choose a range of exciting new texts.
“The new texts offered at GCSE, AS-level and A-level show WJEC’s commitment in choosing texts which represent the diversity of schools and students which study Drama.
“This is the first stage in developing a range of new resources representing and celebrating the work of playwrights, theatre companies and practitioners from the Global Majority.”