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28/03/24

Primary started the final day of the term with an assembly to celebrate the achievements and reflect on the successes of the term. We were also fortunate to hear a beautiful performance from two of our 6th Form. pic.twitter.com/jMGqhQcsiT

27/03/24

Year 6 made their own ‘Butterbeer’ this afternoon, after being inspired by their Harry Potter learning! It was a thumbs up for the magical beverage. pic.twitter.com/93AP0n1CGW

27/03/24

Year 6 were fortunate to have a visit from Professor Rosa Freedman, who spoke to them about human rights and the development of law. She shared her experiences working on tackling discrimination and promoting equality. pic.twitter.com/EDJTRFJJpv

27/03/24

Year 1 have had a lovely Easter service at St Luke’s Church ⛪️💐🌷🐣 pic.twitter.com/DYe831nzrX

27/03/24

Our final breakfast and we are all still smiling 😁 pic.twitter.com/aQm1Y2wqKh

26/03/24

Disco Night 🪩💃🕺 pic.twitter.com/AZa92NHafQ

26/03/24

The pieces are really coming together now ☀️🎭🎨🎶 pic.twitter.com/o4oR6AuJNQ

26/03/24

Good morning! We are all up and raring to go, back in our workshops and being creative 🎶🎭🕺🎨 pic.twitter.com/aCB6cYU0IH

25/03/24

Tonight’s activity: a 3D film 🎥 🦁👑 pic.twitter.com/f08xc6nhqv

25/03/24

A brilliant first day at the children have been incredible and have begun to create some amazing pieces of work 🕺🎨🎭🎶 pic.twitter.com/88Ynep9MaD

25/03/24

Mr D showing off his piano and singing talents with the help of Year 5! 🌊⛵️ pic.twitter.com/jcIKkHVrMH

25/03/24

Bed making has been a task in itself! 🛏️😂 pic.twitter.com/8DRuc4sWCB

25/03/24

We have arrived safely at Ingestre Hall! Ready for our morning activities to begin 🎭🕺🎶🎨 pic.twitter.com/oESPZ38BeO

24/03/24

Year 5 loved the VR headsets this week, exploring the Mayan pyramids 🗺️🧐🤩what a great way to end their topic! pic.twitter.com/FWCstJTZ4f

21/03/24

Our academy students held a brilliant morning for our Year 3, 4 and 5 students. A big thank you for arranging such a fantastic opportunity 🏐⚽️🏉 pic.twitter.com/WyXIdLSPto

20/03/24

* Primary Teacher vacancy *Full TimeSalary – MPS / UPS TLR 2a - Lead of ScienceStart date – September 2024https://t.co/Y5U107tZel#stalbansjobs pic.twitter.com/Ihd8anKcP0

20/03/24

What a treat! An exceptional visit from courtesy of the glorious Inspiring, fun, engaging and informative. Lucky students today! 🐆🐍🌳🛶🤿 pic.twitter.com/GFb2fbdnHe

19/03/24

A very happy U11 girls football squad today. A massive thank you to Premier League Primary Stars for our first ever official U11 Girls kit pic.twitter.com/ksmrbse3DR

19/03/24

Year 5 had a brilliant afternoon representing school at the Primary Netball Tournament! A big thank you to for hosting 🏐 pic.twitter.com/TtiV9lDtTn

18/03/24

Reception have received an egg-stremely interesting parcel this morning 🥚 the children can’t wait for their dinosaur eggs to hatch, they have started preparing a home for them in the outdoor classroom 🦖🦕🪺💥 pic.twitter.com/J8j9F00qbW

15/03/24

Year 6 were using their oracy skills today, challenging each other and having deep discussions about reasoning questions focused on time. pic.twitter.com/3hhwetDTUg

14/03/24

Reception had a great time this morning at St Luke’s church ⛪️ a big thank you to Alex and Chris for delivering these amazing sessions pic.twitter.com/xrOGzegPXX

12/03/24

A sneak peak of tonight’s trust concert 🎶 pic.twitter.com/eI3uHG6obt

11/03/24

Wishing our Muslim community members warm wishes for a blessed Ramadan 🌙 pic.twitter.com/C28AE8RlkG

Back to Subjects Menu

Dance

Dance at Samuel Ryder Academy aims to develop an interest and curiosity of dance as an art form as well as developing physical health and awareness. Dance allows students to learn a number of valuable skills such as confidence and team work, along with developing their creativity and their emotional and intellectual capacity.  Students will study a range of aspects that will enhance their lives including physical activity, health and safety, knowledge and understanding of professional repertoire and a range of other transferrable skills. The course is proven to be very popular with students who enjoy dance and want to widen their knowledge and understanding of dance, and who may wish to pursue a career in the dance sector.

KS2

Students in primary will have the opportunity within PE lessons to experience dance and will look at different themes in a number of styles. In addition to lesson time, students can come to a weekly dance club. All this develops the confidence and skills needed to access the KS3 dance curriculum within their PE lessons.

Students will experience a range of skills during their dance lessons which supports the school drivers of SCHOLAR. They will be able to work with others when creating dance material to promote social awareness, be able to shape and refine their dances to achieve the very best through reflection, take on leadership roles within small groups and be encouraged to discuss dance using subject specific vocabulary showing oracy skills.

 

Autumn

Spring

Summer

Year 4

Introduction to dance. Choreographic task on hobbies and pastimes. Learn and perform a dance based on ‘Pirates’, followed by a choreographic task.

 

 

Year 5

 

Recap on skills. Learn and perform a dance based on 'A Day at the Beach' followed by a choreographic task.

 

Year 6

 

 

Staging a full Musical Production alongside the Music & Drama departments.

Students are required to wear their Samuel Ryder Academy PE kit for dance lessons. All dancers should have bare feet.

KS3

In years 7 and 8, students will experience a range of dance-based activities where they will learn how to create, perform and appreciate dance. In Year 9 students are able to select dance as an option and will have 2 practical dance lessons a week. They will experience a range of dance styles from contemporary to jazz dance. In addition to learning a variety of styles, students will be able to appreciate professional repertoire linked to the GCSE course to prepare them for KS4 and they will also cover a range of practical skills and course content. In addition to lesson time, students can attend a weekly dance club. Students will experience dance from different cultures and genres to enrich their vocabulary and prepare them for GCSE dance, for example ‘A Linha Curva’ choreographed by Itzik Gallili inspired by Brazilian culture.

Students in year 9 use the learning platform Seesaw.

Year 9

Course: Bronze Arts Award, Trinity College, optional.

Students attend two dance lessons per week and work towards the Bronze Arts Award (Trinity College London) qualification over the course of the year. Through the Arts Award, students will achieve a national qualification that will build confidence through nurturing their individual interests, while also equipping them with life skills that will support their wider education and future employment. Students take on challenges and participate in dance activities, experience live theatre events, get inspired by practitioners and artists and share their dance skills with others.

To pass the Bronze Arts Award, learners are required to create an individual arts log or portfolio during the course that demonstrates how they meet the following requirements in four distinct parts:

  • Development of interests, knowledge and skills through active participation in dance (part A)
  • Experience of at least one arts event/experience as an audience member (part B)
  • Research into the work of a practitioner/artist/craftsperson that inspires them (part C)
  • Experience of passing on an arts skill (part D)

The Bronze Arts Award lays the foundations for the GCSE course that starts in year 10: developing the skills and techniques expected to succeed at Key Stage Four dance. Students also have the opportunity to progress onto Silver or Gold Arts Award.

 

 

Autumn

Spring

Summer

Year 9

Introduction to dance technique. Range of performance and choreographic tasks.

Exploration of three professional dance works through performing, choreographing and appreciating dance tasks.

GCSE dance-based activities - learning a set phrase, choreographing from a stimulus and performing in a duet/trio.

 

Students are required to wear their Samuel Ryder Academy PE kit with black leggings for dance lessons. All dancers should have bare feet.

KS4

Course:  AQA GCSE Dance 8236

GCSE Dance Specification Specification for first teaching in 2016 (aqa.org.uk)

In Year 10 and 11, students will have three lessons a week of GCSE dance. Two lessons will be practical based and the third is a theory lesson. The students will learn two set phrases and perform in a group dance along with choreographing their own dance. This is worth 60%. The remaining 40% is the written component where students will be able to show their knowledge and understanding of the various dance skills, write about their own experience of performance and choreography as well as analysing the Dance Anthology (six professional dance works), looking at costume, lighting, set design, aural setting and movement content.

GCSE dance naturally promotes and underpins the SCHOLAR drivers in its very nature. All students will regularly work with their peers in groups, challenge themselves with choreographic tasks where they have to research, plan and create material in response to a stimulus, rehearse and critically evaluate their own and other work and write and talk about dance using dance vocabulary.

The GCSE Anthology is designed to give students a wider knowledge of dance works from different cultures, genres and inclusive dance, for example ‘Artificial Things’ choreographed by Lucy Bennet and performed by Stop Gap Dance Company.

GCSE Dance students use One Note.

Course resources: all resources and revision guides are uploaded onto One Note.

 

Autumn

Spring

Summer

Year 10

Introduction to the GCSE Dance Anthology. Performance, choreography and written tasks.

Performing in a duet/trio and solo choreography task. Written paper preparation.

Learning the set phrases and exploring material for performance in a duet/trio.

Year 11

Research and preparation for choreography component. Rehearsal of group dance. Written paper practice.

Practical examination of choreography and performance. Written paper practice.

Written examination.

 
Students will be able to purchase a black GCSE dance t-shirt and should wear black leggings. All dancers should have bare feet.

Beyond GCSE

Course: AQA A level dance 7273

A-level Dance Specification Specification for first teaching in 2016 (aqa.org.uk)

Students have the option of studying A level dance and this builds on the skills and content learned at GCSE. It is a dynamic qualification which encourages students to develop their creative and intellectual capacity. The course reflects both historical and current dance practices, and students are able to study a range of dance styles enabling them to perform and choreograph in a style of their choice. The course is split into 50% for the practical exam and 50% for the written exam. For the practical exam students have to perform a solo in the style of a practitioner, perform in a quartet and choreograph a group dance. In the written exam students have to write about and analyse two selected areas of study and two professional dance works.

A level dance students use Seesaw.

Wider Curriculum and Careers

Students can attend a weekly Primary dance club throughout the year. Students in the club have many performance opportunities such as showcases at school and more recently the County Dance Teachers Association Dance Festival at the Alban Arena. Year 6 students will take part in a musical in the summer term, previous shows have included Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and Mary Poppins.

There are weekly dance clubs for KS3, where dance captains have the opportunity to support, and KS4, again culminating in regular showcase performances and in the CDTA Dance Festival.

School Production (Primary) – Students in year 6 during the summer term work with the drama, music and dance departments to put on a full junior production of a book musical. Recent successful productions include The Lion King and Mary Poppins.

School Production (Secondary) - Students from all year groups are invited to take part in the annual school production which is performed during the Spring term. This is a valuable opportunity for students to work together creatively, make new friends and experience the thrill of performing to a live audience. There is a role to suit everyone whether it be as an actor, musician, singer, dancer, costume designer, sound engineer, lighting operator or front of house manager. Recent successful productions include Little Shop of Horrors, Sister Act, Shrek and Legally Blonde.

Each year, the dance department, alongside music and drama, engage in a variety of professional theatre productions for both enjoyment and exam syllabus. Recent productions include; The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Matilda, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, The Life of Pi, The Play that Goes Wrong, The Woman in Black and an annual trip to the local pantomime with year 7.

Every year in March there is a House Dance competition where each house in each year has the chance to enter the competition to showcase their performance and choreographic skills.

Careers in Dance:

One Dance UK | A Guide to Careers in Dance

There are many pathways available to students who have studied dance such as a choreographer, set and costume designer, dance movement therapist, dance scientist, yoga teacher, etc.

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