A Level
A Level Drama and Theatre Tutoring
One-to-one A Level Drama and Theatre tutoring for AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and WJEC Eduqas: set texts, live theatre evaluation, practitioners and the analytical writing your coursework needs.
A Level Drama and Theatre is offered by AQA (7262), Pearson Edexcel (9DR0), OCR (H459) and WJEC Eduqas (A690QS). Every board combines practical work with written exams on set texts and live theatre, but the components, weightings and practitioner rules differ a lot. Your tutor works from your board's specification: practitioner theory you can apply, exam answers on your set texts and live production, and what your notebook, portfolio or reports must show.
Matched in 24h
A & A* grade tutors
First session guarantee
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What You Get with A Level Drama and Theatre Tutoring
Comprehensive support designed to help you achieve your target grade
Written Exam
- Set text answers from the perspective of performer, designer and director
- Live theatre evaluation with precise detail on performance, lighting, sound, set and costume
- Planning extended answers to time, for example across AQA's 3-hour open book paper
- Past paper practice marked against your board's mark scheme
Practical Coursework
- Devising: responding to a stimulus and applying a practitioner's methods
- What each write-up rewards: AQA working notebook, Edexcel portfolio, OCR research report and portfolio, Eduqas creative log
- Evaluating your decisions rather than describing what happened in rehearsal
- Support that stays within JCQ rules: your performance and written work remain your own
Practitioners and Theatre Knowledge
- Practitioners such as Stanislavski, Brecht, Artaud, Berkoff, Complicite, Frantic Assembly and Punchdrunk
- Theatrical vocabulary: proxemics, levels, pace, pitch, subtext, lighting states, sound design
- Social, cultural and historical context of your set plays
- Design fundamentals such as scale, shape, colour and texture
Real student results
Students Improving Their Drama and Theatre Grades
C → A
"My written exam responses were too vague - I knew what I thought but couldn't write it precisely. My tutor built my theatrical vocabulary and my Section A live theatre analysis jumped significantly."
J
Jasmine L.
A Level Drama and Theatre, AQA, Summer 2024
B → A*
"Brecht was the practitioner I found hardest to apply practically. My tutor worked through Gestus and alienation with real examples and I could finally write about applying them convincingly."
M
Marcus P.
A Level Drama and Theatre, OCR, Summer 2024
D → B
"My devising portfolio was the weak link - I kept describing what we did rather than evaluating why we made the decisions we did. My tutor changed how I thought about documenting the process."
N
Niamh B.
A Level Drama and Theatre, Edexcel, Summer 2023
How It Works
Simple steps to get started with A Level Drama and Theatre tutoring
1
Buy a Bundle
Choose 3 to 100 hours based on your needs. Split across subjects if needed.
2
Complete Onboarding
Tell us your exam board, year group, weak areas, goals, and scheduling preferences.
3
Get Matched & Start
Matched within 24 hours. Schedule your first session immediately.
AS Level vs Full A Level: What's the Difference?
We support students at both stages - here's how they compare
Area
AS Level (Year 12)
A Level (Year 12–13)
Qualification
A standalone AS: the result does not count towards the A Level
A linear A Level: all components are assessed by the end of the course
Availability
AQA no longer offers AS Drama; Eduqas offers AS (B690QS); OCR's AS (H059) ends after June 2027
AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas, plus OCR until its final exams in June 2028
A Level Drama and Theatre Syllabus Coverage
We support AQA 7262, Pearson Edexcel 9DR0, OCR H459 and WJEC Eduqas A690QS, plus WJEC in Wales. OCR is withdrawing its Drama and Theatre A Level, with final exams in June 2028. Tell us your board, set texts, practitioners and whether you perform or design, and we match you with a tutor who knows them.
1AQA 7262: Drama and Theatre Exam
- Section A: one set play from List A, e.g. Antigone, Much Ado About Nothing, Hedda Gabler, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Jerusalem (25 marks)
- Section B: a three-part question on an extract from a List B play, e.g. Yerma, The Glass Menagerie, Our Country's Good, The Convert (30 marks)
- Section C: the work of theatre makers in one live production you have seen (25 marks)
- Open book, 3 hours
- +1 more
2AQA 7262: Practical Components
- Creating original drama: working notebook (40 marks) and devised performance (20 marks), influenced by one prescribed practitioner
- Making theatre: three extracts from three plays, with Extract 3 performed for assessment (40 marks) and a reflective report (20 marks)
- A different prescribed practitioner applied to Extract 3
- Working notebook and reflective report capped at 3,000 words each when written
- +1 more
3Pearson Edexcel 9DR0
- Component 1 Devising (40%): a devised piece from a text extract and a practitioner, performed from 2027 as a duologue (2 performers) or a group (3-6 performers), with a portfolio of 2,500-3,000 words or 12-14 minutes recorded
- Component 2 Text in Performance (20%): a group or design piece plus a monologue or duologue, assessed by an examiner
- Component 3 Theatre Makers in Practice (40%, 2 hours 30 minutes): live theatre evaluation, page to stage, and interpreting a performance text
- Live theatre evaluation notes of up to 500 words allowed in the exam
- +1 more
4OCR H459
- Practitioners in practice (40%, non-exam assessment): research report, portfolio and devised performance or design
- Exploring and performing texts (20%): a performance or design assessed by a visiting examiner
- Analysing performance (20%, 2 hours 15 minutes): two texts on a theme plus live theatre evaluation
- Deconstructing texts for performance (20%, 1 hour 45 minutes): one text from a set list
- +1 more
5WJEC Eduqas A690QS
- Component 1 Theatre Workshop (20%): reinterpreting a text extract using a practitioner or company, with a creative log
- Component 2 Text in Action (40%): a devised piece and a text extract performed for a visiting examiner, plus a process and evaluation report of up to 3,000 words
- Component 3 Text in Performance (40%, 2 hours 30 minutes): Sections A, B and C
- Set texts for assessment from 2027 include The Winter's Tale, A Raisin in the Sun, Blood Wedding, Small Island and The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage
- +1 more
6Practitioners and Methods
- Stanislavski: given circumstances, objectives, the magic if
- Brecht: epic theatre, Gestus, Verfremdungseffekt, direct address
- Artaud: Theatre of Cruelty
- Physical theatre companies such as Frantic Assembly and Complicite
- +1 more
Assessment breakdown
A Level Drama and Theatre Assessment Structure
Understand exactly how you'll be assessed and prepare strategically for each component
Exam boards covered:AQAPearson EdexcelOCRWJEC Eduqas
AQA Component 1: Drama and theatre
Written ExamWeighting
40%
Written exam on two set plays and a live production
3 hours
Section A: List A set play (25) | Section B: List B extract, three-part question (30) | Section C: live theatre makers (25)
Open book; the live production cannot be one of your set plays
AQA Component 2: Creating original drama
Coursework / NEAWeighting
30%
Devised drama influenced by one prescribed practitioner
Working notebook (40 marks) | Devised performance (20 marks)
Marked by teachers and moderated by AQA; you can perform, design or direct
AQA Component 3: Making theatre
Coursework / NEAWeighting
30%
Practical exploration of three extracts, each from a different play
Performance of Extract 3 (40 marks) | Reflective report (20 marks)
Marked by AQA; Extract 3 applies a second prescribed practitioner
Grade Boundaries (AQA 7262, June 2026)
Grade
Min. %
A*
78.5%+
A
71%+
B
61%+
C
51%+
D
41%+
E
31.5%+
Grade boundaries shift each session. These are indicative based on recent exam-board data.
Key Assessment Notes
- Pearson Edexcel 9DR0: Devising 40% (80 marks), Text in Performance 20% (60 marks), Theatre Makers in Practice exam 40% (2 hours 30 minutes, 80 marks)
- OCR H459: Practitioners in practice 40% (120 marks), Exploring and performing texts 20%, Analysing performance exam 20% (2 hours 15 minutes), Deconstructing texts for performance exam 20% (1 hour 45 minutes); OCR is withdrawing this A Level after the June 2028 exams
- WJEC Eduqas A690QS: Theatre Workshop 20% (60 marks), Text in Action 40% (120 marks, visiting examiner), Text in Performance exam 40% (2 hours 30 minutes, 120 marks); new set texts from summer 2027
- AQA and Edexcel require you to see live theatre in person, confirmed by your school in a live performance statement by 1 May
- Grade boundaries shown are AQA 7262's overall boundaries for June 2026 as a percentage of the 200-mark total; other boards publish their own
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about A Level Drama and Theatre tutoring
Yes. We support AQA 7262, Pearson Edexcel 9DR0, OCR H459 and WJEC Eduqas A690QS. The boards are structured very differently: AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas each set one written exam worth 40% but divide the practical work in different ways, while OCR has two exams worth 20% each. Tell us your board, set texts, practitioners and whether you perform or design, and we match you with a tutor who knows your specification.
Most of the work is on the written side, where students lose the most marks. A session might take one moment from your set play and plan how you would stage it as performer, designer and director, or turn your live theatre notes into a precise evaluation. Your tutor also helps you understand your practitioner well enough to apply their methods, and teaches you to document and evaluate practical work through practice tasks, while feedback on your own notebook or portfolio comes from your teacher.
It depends on your board. AQA prescribes a long list and you need one practitioner for Component 2 and a different one for Component 3. Edexcel's Component 3 choices are Artaud, Brecht, Berkoff, Complicite, Kneehigh, Joan Littlewood, Punchdrunk and Stanislavski. Eduqas asks for a different practitioner or company in each practical component. Your tutor teaches the methods of the practitioners on your list and discusses which might suit your piece, so you can make the choice and apply it convincingly.
Yes, within the rules. Your tutor can explain what the assessment criteria reward, teach you how to analyse and evaluate decisions rather than narrate them, and discuss your practitioner and rehearsal choices with you. The tutor cannot write, edit, correct or give feedback on the notebook, portfolio, log or report you submit. Under JCQ rules this work must be your own, feedback on it comes from your teacher, and you sign a declaration to confirm it.
Choose a few precise moments and analyse them in detail: what a performer did with voice, movement or space, or how lighting, sound, set or costume changed the meaning. Then evaluate the effect on the audience and how well it served the production's aims. Vague praise scores poorly. Your tutor helps you build notes before the exam (Edexcel allows up to 500 words in the room) and practise timed answers.
Yes. Most set text questions ask how you would bring a moment to life for an audience, and many students only write as an actor. Your tutor practises each perspective with you: vocal and physical choices for a performer, concepts and specific effects for a designer, and overall interpretation, space and staging for a director, always linked to the play's context.
Yes. OCR has announced it will stop offering AS and A Level Drama and Theatre. September 2026 is the final first teaching date and June 2028 the final A Level exam, with no resit opportunity afterwards. If you are on the OCR course now, you complete it as normal and your tutor works to the OCR specification throughout.
Yes. IB Theatre is a separate course with its own assessment tasks, and as an IB tutoring company we match IB Theatre students too. Tell us during onboarding whether you are taking A Level Drama and Theatre or IB Theatre so your tutor prepares for the right components.
You can start at any point, and matching usually happens within 24 hours. Online sessions suit the written side of the course well: set text analysis, practitioner theory, live theatre essays and the analytical writing your coursework needs. For practical work, your tutor can discuss ideas and practitioner methods with you, while the final performance is prepared with your teacher and group.
Recommended Guides
How to Use Past Papers Effectively
A phased plan for timed practice and mark scheme review before the written exam.
Read guideHow to Answer Evaluate Questions
How to weigh strengths and limitations and reach a judgement, the core of live theatre evaluation.
Read guideEvaluate vs Analyse
The difference between explaining a theatrical choice and judging how well it worked.
Read guide