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Northern Ireland · CCEA2026

CCEA A-Level Performing Arts: complete guide to the four coursework units, the assessment objectives and how to study each one

A complete guide to CCEA A-Level Performing Arts (specification 2016). Covers the four coursework units across AS and A2, the four assessment objectives, the performance and production disciplines, the portfolios and supporting documents, and how to study each unit for top grades.

Browse guides →Syllabus dot points (8)

CCEA A-Level Performing Arts (specification first taught 2016) is a two-year, wholly coursework course split into AS and A2, set and marked by CCEA in Northern Ireland. There is no written exam: every unit is internally assessed and externally moderated. This page is the index: below is a map of the four units, the assessment objectives the whole course is marked against, the disciplines you can offer, and how to study each unit.

The CCEA Performing Arts units

The qualification is built from four practical units, two at AS and two at A2, each assessed through portfolios, supporting documents and live work rather than an exam.

AS 1 Developing Skills and Repertoire
The foundation unit. Students develop and apply skills in a chosen discipline and apply them to a researched repertoire, producing a portfolio with a skills audit, research, a risk assessment, and a record and evaluation. The unifying idea is building and evidencing a skills base.
AS 2 Planning and Realising a Performing Arts Event
Students plan, develop and realise a live event for an audience, working as part of a group, and record the process in a supporting document. The unifying idea is managing a project from first idea to performance.
A2 1 Planning for Employment in the Performing Arts Industry
Students research the industry and a chosen role, build a promotional portfolio, and present themselves through an audition (performance students) or a presentation (production students), with an interview. The unifying idea is preparing for a freelance, competitive sector.
A2 2 The Production Company
The synoptic final unit. Students form a production company and respond to a commission brief by researching, planning, promoting and realising an event, recorded in a record of work. The unifying idea is professional practice: delivering a brief to a client and audience.

The assessment objectives

Four objectives run across every unit and separate average work from top grades.

  • AO1 - apply skills and knowledge. Demonstrate practical performance or production skills in a real context.
  • AO2 - use research and resources. Let research into repertoire, practitioners and styles drive your decisions.
  • AO3 - plan, develop and realise. Deliver a piece or event, working effectively alone and within a group.
  • AO4 - evaluate and reflect. Judge the process and outcome critically, with evidence.

The AS units lean towards AO1 and AO2; the A2 units lean towards AO3 and AO4.

The disciplines

You specialise in a pathway rather than covering every art form. Performance disciplines are acting, dance, music and musical theatre; production and technical roles include lighting, sound, stage management, set, costume and direction. You are assessed on the depth of a chosen discipline, not the breadth of the form.

Assessment structure

CCEA A-Level Performing Arts is split between AS (40 percent) and A2 (60 percent), with every unit assessed by coursework that is internally assessed and externally moderated.

  • AS 1 Developing Skills and Repertoire - a portfolio evidencing skills developed and applied to a researched repertoire.
  • AS 2 Planning and Realising a Performing Arts Event - a live event and a supporting document recording its planning and realisation.
  • A2 1 Planning for Employment in the Performing Arts Industry - a promotional portfolio and an audition or presentation with an interview.
  • A2 2 The Production Company - a commissioned event and a record of work, judged against the brief.

How to study CCEA Performing Arts

A coursework subject rewards disciplined process and clear evidence.

  1. Treat the objectives as the constant. Match your evidence to the objective each unit prizes.
  2. Go deep in one discipline. Name a specific skill, practise it deliberately, and log it.
  3. Keep the portfolio live. Write dated entries as work happens, and signpost the objectives.
  4. Evidence decisions, not activity. Record choices with reasons and the research behind them.
  5. Reflect continuously. Judge each run and event against its aims with evidence.

The modules, dot point by dot point

Each unit has a specification-level overview with worked questions and cross-links, plus a quiz, alongside a cross-unit skills module covering the assessment objectives, disciplines, portfolio and evaluation. Browse the full set at /ccea-a-level/performing-arts/syllabus.

For the official specification

CCEA publishes the full specification and support materials at ccea.org.uk. Always work from the current CCEA specification and your centre's controlled-assessment guidance, because requirements are board-specific.

Performing Arts guides

In-depth written guides with paired practice quizzes.

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Performing Arts practice quizzes

Multiple-choice drills with worked answer explanations. Your scores stay on this device.

The CCEA-A-LEVEL system, explained

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Common questions about Performing Arts

How is CCEA A-Level Performing Arts structured?
CCEA A-Level Performing Arts is a two-year course split into AS and A2, and it is wholly coursework with no written exam. At AS, students take AS 1 Developing Skills and Repertoire and AS 2 Planning and Realising a Performing Arts Event, and the AS counts for 40 percent of the full A level. At A2, students take A2 1 Planning for Employment in the Performing Arts Industry and A2 2 The Production Company, and the A2 counts for 60 percent. Every unit is internally assessed and externally moderated.
Does CCEA A-Level Performing Arts have an exam?
No. CCEA A-Level Performing Arts has no written examination. All four units, two at AS and two at A2, are internally assessed by the centre and externally moderated by CCEA. Marks come from portfolios, supporting documents, performances, auditions or presentations and reflective evaluations rather than from a paper, which is why building clear, dated, well-signposted evidence is the central skill of the course.
What disciplines can I offer in CCEA Performing Arts?
You can offer a performance discipline (acting, dance, music or musical theatre) or a production and technical role (lighting, sound, stage management, set, costume or direction). The specification encompasses drama, dance, music and any genre that involves performing in front of an audience, and most events combine several disciplines. You are assessed on the depth of a chosen discipline rather than the breadth of the form.
What are the assessment objectives in CCEA Performing Arts?
There are four. AO1 rewards applying performance or production skills and knowledge in practical work. AO2 rewards using research and resources to inform decisions. AO3 rewards planning, developing and realising work, alone and in a group. AO4 rewards evaluating and reflecting critically. The AS units lean towards AO1 and AO2, and the A2 units lean towards AO3 and AO4, so matching your evidence to the objective each unit prizes is the key to top grades.
What is the AS 1 portfolio and what goes in it?
AS 1 Developing Skills and Repertoire is assessed through a portfolio that evidences how you develop and apply skills in a chosen discipline. It typically contains a skills audit (your dated baseline), research into repertoire and practitioners, a rehearsal record showing skills developed over time, a risk assessment, and a record and evaluation of the process and outcome. The portfolio is the assessment, so it should be dated, signposted to the objectives and rich in varied evidence.
What is the A2 2 production company unit?
A2 2 The Production Company is the synoptic final unit. Students form a production company and, in response to a commission brief, research, plan, promote and realise a performing arts event for an audience, recording it in a record of work that contains a research report, promotional materials, evidence of tasks completed and an evaluation against the brief. It pulls together the personal craft, event management and industry awareness built across the earlier units.
How should I study CCEA A-Level Performing Arts?
Because there is no exam, you revise by building habits, not cramming facts. Treat the four assessment objectives as the constant across units, keep a live dated portfolio, develop one discipline deeply, evidence decisions rather than activity, and reflect continuously with evidence. The skills transfer from the first skills audit through the AS event to the A2 production company, so investing in the evidencing process early pays off in every unit.