Ready to turn your passion for performance into a future career?
This exciting course is designed to help you take your first steps into the industry, whether your goal is stage, screen, or beyond. You’ll build the skills, knowledge, and confidence needed to succeed in performance-related careers.
You’ll develop key performance skills including acting, voice, and movement in a highly practical, hands-on environment. Alongside this, you’ll strengthen your research and written skills as you explore different theatre companies and influential practitioners.
A standout part of the course is the chance to create and run your own theatre company, giving you real insight into how the industry works and the variety of roles available — from performing to directing, producing, and more.
This means you won’t just grow as a performer — you’ll develop a wider understanding of the industry and gain valuable, transferable skills that set you apart.
If you’re serious about a future in performance, this course gives you the skills, experience, and mindset to get there.
Students not studying Drama should have a proven record in the interest of performing arts by having participated in extra-curricular clubs and enrichment, for example, drama clubs or school productions. To gain entry to this course you will be required to attend an a workshop audition. Double Vocational subjects may be taken alongside an A Level or a Single Vocational subject. Students studying three A Levels or a mixed programme will be expected to have a minimum of two GCSEs at grade 5 and three at grade 4, including English Language and Mathematics. You will also be required to complete a successful workshop audition.
Unit 1: Investigating Practitioners
Unit 2: Developing skills and techniques for live performance
Unit 3: Group Performance workshop
Unit 4: Community Theatre
Unit 5: Individual Performance Commission
Unit 6: Final Live Performance
2 x Optional Units – E.g: Acting Styles and Movement in Performance
This course is designed to nurture your existing performance skills and help you develop new ones. To succeed, you must have a passion for performing arts and a willingness to perform a range of performance techniques and styles. The course has been designed with the support of The Octagon Theatre and The Arden School of Theatre in Manchester so the skills you gain are geared towards preparing you for the industry.
You will be involved in many live performances, coached in voice acting, movement in performance and character interpretation. You will see external theatre productions, alongside working with industry professionals and agencies. We will train you to be a knowledgeable, disciplined performer ready to progress into work, university or drama school. This is a practically demanding subject, with energetic lessons designed for performers who are serious about their future.
Assessment is through a combination of practical and written assessment including controlled assessment.
Exam Board: Pearson RQF
Upon entry to a performing arts course you will be accepted into the Performing Arts Academy. The academy is an opportunity for our performance students to participate in professional workshops with industry professionals at the Octagon Theatre, universities, drama schools and local casting agencies. You will learn about different career opportunities in the performing arts industry and widen your experience and understanding of the professional world of performing arts.
Our enrichment programme allows you to develop skills in different styles and we alternate yearly between a large scale musical performance and the National Theatre Connections Festival, allowing students to gain professional experience and perform at local theatres such as The Lowry, Octagon or Home Theatre Manchester.
Students have the opportunity to complete a one-week work placement or live-brief in the Summer term.
We keep class sizes small which means our students get the very best in personal tuition alongside the chance to gain more lead roles and be noticed when we have guest professionals visit, including casting agents and university recruiters. Keeping our class sizes small has proven to increase student performance and confidence, giving you greater opportunities to be heard and seen, meaning you can reach your full potential. Our teachers have professional experience in the performing arts industry and have developed the Performing Arts Academy. The academy offers students the opportunity to take LAMDA exams, gain work experience and participate in professional workshops at the Octagon Theatre and with other professionals to develop those wider performance skills. We have free workshops and performances all year round delivered by guests from universities such as UCLAN, Liverpool Hope University, Arden School of Theatre, Sterling Academy, the Octagon Theatre, Bolton University and professional scriptwriters and actors. We have excellent facilities including a theatre, rehearsal rooms, recording studios and a dance studio.
Students progress to study at drama or dance school, or university. The skills developed are very transferable and desirable in other careers including law and public relations-related careers. Careers may include becoming a dancer, stage or screen actor, director, stage manager, teacher, drama therapist or choreographer.
Additional to your study, we provide you with the opportunity to visit the theatre to watch professional performances and visit Media City to learn about TV and radio performance.
We are looking for students who are dedicated to success and ready to learn in a fast paced energetic environment. You will be expected to attend extra rehearsals, study sessions and skills workshops in order to be the best you can be.
Our students also perform in a number of shows and events including national competitions. We also rehearse towards a large scale musical which is performed in a professional theatre.
Future students would benefit from researching the following practitioners and theories in preparation for the course: Frantic Assembly, Laban movement and efforts, Steven Berkoff and Konstantin Stanislavski.
Sixth Form Bolton Performing Arts Alumnus Releases Debut Single Everyone at The Sixth Form
It’s always lovely when former students drop in to see us and recently a number of Expressive Arts
As the new students settle into life at The Sixth Form Bolton, the college was delighted to host a
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