CCEA A-Level Performing Arts AS 2 Planning and Realising a Performing Arts Event: a complete overview of the unit

AS 2 Planning and Realising a Performing Arts Event is the second AS unit of CCEA A-Level Performing Arts. Where AS 1 builds skills, AS 2 puts them to work: you plan, develop and realise an event for an audience, usually as part of a group, and record the whole process in a supporting document. Like every unit it has no exam. This overview maps the four phases and how the supporting document evidences them.

The aim of the unit

AS 2 prizes AO3 (planning, developing and realising work, alone and in a group) and AO4 (evaluation). It is the first time the course asks you to manage a project end to end, so the emphasis shifts from personal skill to process and teamwork. The supporting document is where that process becomes visible to the moderator.

The four phases

The unit falls into four phases, each generating evidence.

1. Plan. Agree the concept, target audience and venue; allocate roles; build a realistic schedule and budget.
2. Develop. Rehearse and build the event, logging changes, group problem-solving and contingency plans.
3. Realise. Run the event for an audience, recording how the plan held up on the day.
4. Evaluate. Judge the event against its original aims with evidence such as audience response and footage.

The supporting document

The supporting document is the unit's central evidence.

• Records decisions, not activity - each with the reasoning behind it.
• Holds the working evidence - schedules, roles, budgets, promotional drafts, risk assessments, contingency plans.
• Individualises your contribution - the responsibilities and decisions that were yours.
• Ends with evaluation - judging the event against its aims with evidence.

How to reach the top band

The marks reward managed process and critical judgement.

1. Record decisions with reasons. A choice with its rationale beats a list of meetings.
2. Plan for what could go wrong. Contingency planning is part of AO3.
3. Protect your own mark. Evidence your role distinctly within the group's work.
4. Evaluate against aims. Use audience response, footage and feedback, not general praise.
5. Keep the document live. Build it as the event develops, dated throughout.

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.