GCSE Drama: NEA changes for 2022 exams
Published: Monday 12 Jul 2021
Ofqual has published the arrangements for non-exam assessment (NEA) and fieldwork for students entering for exams in 2022. Here are the changes to GCSE Drama you need to know about for summer 2022:
- Component 2 – we’ll allow students to complete a monologue. Further guidance can be found on our website .
- Component 3 – we’re still finalising the details on the visiting exam and will provide full details on this shortly
- Component 3 – we’ve reduced the number of extracts required for performance from two to one. However, students must continue to identify two extracts from their chosen play and can perform both, if they want to.
- Component 2 and Component 3 performances – we’ve reduced the timing requirements to one and a half minutes (monologue) and two minutes (duologue/group).
- Component 2 and Component 3 performances – we’ll apply a penalty to performances that don’t meet these minimum requirements in the same way as in previous series.
- Components 2 and 3 – we’ll allow students to submit alternative evidence where it hasn’t been possible to produce a recording of a final performance.
Appropriate alternative evidence
Alternative evidence for performers must include both of the following. No other forms of alternative evidence will be accepted:
- audio-visual recording of some acting performance without the need for fully designed set/lighting/costumes. This could include recorded rehearsals or physical demonstrations of key aspects; and
- detailed explanation of the effects students would have wanted to create and the methods they would’ve employed to do so in the final live performance. This could be audio-visual or written.
Alternative evidence for designers must include one or more of the following as appropriate. No other forms of alternative evidence will be accepted:
- prototype of product – to clearly demonstrate key design features that would be realised in the final product
- original and non-original photography – to clearly demonstrate either students’ own realised designs or effects that they would want to emulate from live theatre productions
- drawings or annotated sketches of designs – to clearly demonstrate the key features of the design, eg size, shape, fit, effect etc
- annotated scripts – to clearly demonstrate cues and effects throughout the performance
- video or written account - detailed explanation of the effects students would have wanted to create and the methods they would have employed in order to do so in the final live performance
- physical demonstrations – audio-visual recording to clearly demonstrate:
- how costumes fit and move
- sound effects
- lighting effects
- set design
- size, shape and operation of puppets.
Updated mark schemes
We’ve amended the mark schemes for Component 2 and Component 3 to allow for alternative evidence to be submitted. The updated mark schemes can be found on our website.
Centre declaration forms
You'll be able to use ‘Covid-19’ on the NEA, fieldwork and live performance centre declaration form as the reason students haven’t been able to attend a live theatre performance.
Ofqual is planning a consultation on summer 2022 towards the end of this term. We’ll provide further updates and guidance about the summer 2022 exams as soon as we are able to.
