Level 3 BTEC Foundation Diploma Performing Arts
Course Code: Q100144
Key Information
Course type:
Vocational
Campus:
Sixth Form Campus
Start Date:
08 Sept 2025
Duration:
2 years
Attendance:
Full-time
Fees:
Free
The course is co-taught with The Kings Theatre and is a unique opportunity to develop your skills in an exceptional vocational setting. You will study performing arts through the musical theatre disciplines of singing, dance and acting. The focus is on developing your performance skills through a range of performance projects that will challenge you to work collaboratively and develop your confidence as a performer in a range of settings.
Over the two-year course, you will gain a Foundation Diploma which is the equivalent to one and a half A Levels. Your lessons will take place over one day, beginning with singing and acting workshops on the Kings Theatre stage followed by a dance class in the studio theatre at the Sixth Form campus in the afternoon. You will study performing arts alongside two other courses, which can be BTEC courses and/or A Levels. This will allow you to progress to HE, studying performance at drama school or university in the future.
WHAT WILL I STUDY?
The course is made up of four units. After a term of developing your skills as singers, dancers and actors through a range of mini projects, you will do your first assessments
Unit A1: Skills development- you will focus on one musical theatre and one dance style and develop your understanding of each via a series of practical workshops exploring professional repertoire.
Unit A2: Creating performance material - this is a devising unit where you will create a piece of children’s theatre, on the subject of healthy eating, which you will then tour to local primary schools as a piece of theatre-in-education. This doubles as a work experience module, as you experience what it is like to be a touring theatre company.
Unit A3: Performing for an audience - this is your main performance project, where you audition for roles and perform a jukebox musical to an audience.
Unit F16: Planning a career in the Industry - In this unit, you will develop your knowledge and understanding of the opportunities available to you in the performing arts industry. You will look at the history of performance from the late 1800s, looking at how it has developed into the vibrant business it now is. You will explore routes into a career in the industry and prepare audition material that enables you to access HE courses and, potentially, industry auditions. You will have the opportunity to meet industry professionals at The Kings Theatre who will give you important insights into how the world of performance works.
A minimum of five GCSEs at grade 4.
PLUS
You should demonstrate a keen interest in the performing arts, with strong ability in at least one of the three disciplines and the desire to develop your skills in the other two to a higher level.
It is preferable that you have studied music, drama or dance at GCSE and achieved a 5, or have achieved a Level 2 performing arts qualification at Merit or above. If you didn’t study a performance subject, you should have been a member of KSPA or a similar youth performance group or dance school, and be able to talk about the performances that you have been in and the skills you have developed.
You will have a 9.55am start, one lesson in the morning, one in the afternoon and a guaranteed 4pm finish. You will also have at least one morning and one afternoon per week free for private study.
100% Internal Assessment (with external verification)
You will be given client briefs, which you will use as stimulus to produce performance work within a vocational scenario and be assessed on your performance of professional repertoire. You will keep a working notebook for each project where your review targets and record your processes as key milestones.
You will develop, demonstrate and evaluate your skills within each unit and be assessed continuously over the duration of the course.
Your teachers are the assessors, and your work is externally verified by an examiner from Edexcel.
You could progress to studying performing arts at a higher level, at university or at a dance/drama school. There are also many opportunities within the arts industry, for example in stage-management, lightning technician etc.
There will be many opportunities to enrich your study through seeing professional theatre at The Kings Theatre and trips to see performances in London, Chichester and Southampton. You can be a member of our vibrant Dance Live team and help create a piece of dance theatre that we take to The Guildhall in January, when we compete against other schools and colleges. And you can join any of the E6 activities that are on offer at the Sixth Form Campus.
Level 3 BTEC Foundation Diploma Performing Arts
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