CCEA A-Level Performing Arts AS 1 Developing Skills and Repertoire: a complete overview of the unit and its portfolio

AS 1 Developing Skills and Repertoire is the first unit of CCEA A-Level Performing Arts and the foundation of the whole course. You develop and apply skills in a chosen discipline, research and rehearse a repertoire, and produce a portfolio that evidences the journey. Like every unit it has no exam: it is internally assessed and externally moderated. This overview maps the aim, the stages and how to evidence them.

The aim of the unit

AS 1 has two intertwined aims: to develop skills in your discipline, and to apply them to a repertoire you have researched. It is the foundation unit, so it prizes AO1 (applying skills) and AO2 (using research). Whatever discipline you offer, from acting to a production role, the unit asks you to show a named skill growing over time and driven by research.

The stages of the unit

Tackle the unit as a sequence, each stage building the evidence the next depends on.

1. Skills audit. A dated, honest baseline of your starting skills.
2. Research. Investigate repertoire and the practitioners, styles or methods behind it, and record the decisions it informs.
3. Rehearsal and development. Target specific skills, log each session, and prepare a risk assessment.
4. Performance. Realise your repertoire for an audience.
5. Record and evaluation. Judge process and outcome against the baseline, with evidence.

The portfolio

Because the portfolio is the assessment, build it as you go.

• Skills audit - the baseline.
• Research log - each entry paired with the decision it informed.
• Rehearsal record - dated, naming the skill targeted and what changed.
• Risk assessment - hazards and controls, a required professional document.
• Record and evaluation - reflective judgement against the baseline, with evidence.

How to reach the top band

The marks reward depth and evidence, not effort alone.

1. Set specific skill targets. A named, measurable skill can be practised and evidenced; a vague one cannot.
2. Close the research loop. State the decision each piece of research informed.
3. Keep a dated record. Log what you tried and what changed, with stills and footage.
4. Evaluate against the baseline. Compare each run to the audit and set the next target.
5. Treat the portfolio as a deliverable. A clear before, process and after lifts the band.

The unit, dot point by dot point

This unit's full overview, with worked questions and cross-links, sits alongside the cross-unit skills pages. 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.