Skip to main content

← SQA-ADVANCED-HIGHER

Scotland Β· SQA2026

SQA Advanced Higher Drama: complete guide to the Performance, the Assignment and the project-dissertation

A complete guide to SQA Advanced Higher Drama, an SCQF level 7 qualification: the 50 mark Performance (acting, directing or design), the 20 mark Assignment analysing professional theatre, the 30 mark project-dissertation, the practitioners and concepts examiners reward, and how to study each component.

Browse guides β†’Syllabus dot points (15)

SQA Advanced Higher Drama is a one-year course at SCQF level 7, building on Higher Drama and approaching university-level study of theatre. It is graded A to D from a practical Performance and two pieces of written coursework. This page is the index: below is a map of the components, how the marks split, and how to study each one.

The components of SQA Advanced Higher Drama

The course brings together advanced practical performance, the analysis of professional theatre, and independent research. There is no set text list dictated centrally for the Performance: centres and candidates choose the texts they work on. The modules on this site group the skills the SQA assesses.

Performance
Worth 50 marks and assessed by a visiting assessor, the Performance asks the candidate to choose one option, acting, directing or design, and realise a coherent performance concept for a text. It rewards research, textual analysis, technical command of the chosen option, and a controlling idea communicated to an audience.
The Assignment
Worth 20 marks, the Assignment is a written analysis of a professional theatrical production and at least one practitioner in it, produced under controlled conditions with a 250-word resource sheet. It rewards analysis and evaluation of how specific choices created meaning and impact.
Theatre Practitioners
The theory that underpins the whole course: the influential practitioners and traditions, from Stanislavski's psychological realism to Brecht's epic theatre to the physical and experimental tradition, applied to performance and to analysis.
The project-dissertation
Worth 30 marks and marked externally, an independent research project of 2,500 to 3,000 words engaging with at least one practitioner and sustaining a referenced line of argument.

Course assessment

The Advanced Higher Drama award is graded A to D from a total of 100 marks.

  • Performance - 50 marks, one option (acting, directing or design), assessed practically by a visiting assessor.
  • Assignment - 20 marks, a written analysis of a professional production and a practitioner, under controlled conditions.
  • Project-dissertation - 30 marks, an independent research project of 2,500 to 3,000 words, marked externally.

The practical Performance carries half the marks, and the two written components carry the other half, so the course rewards both performance skill and the analytical and research skills the Assignment and dissertation demand.

The practitioners and concepts examiners reward

Advanced Higher Drama assumes a framework of concepts and practitioners that runs through every component:

  1. Acting, directing and design concepts. The craft of each Performance option, from objectives and subtext in acting to proxemics and pace in directing to set, costume, lighting and sound in design.
  2. The performance concept. A single controlling interpretation, grounded in research and textual analysis, that every practical choice serves.
  3. Influential practitioners. Stanislavski, Brecht and the physical and experimental tradition, studied as working methods and applied to performance and analysis.
  4. Analysis and evaluation of professional theatre. Reading a live production for impact and attributing that impact to specific practitioner choices.
  5. Independent research and argument. Framing a question, engaging sources and a practitioner, and sustaining a referenced line of argument.

How to study SQA Advanced Higher Drama

Advanced Higher Drama rewards sustained practical and independent work far more than last-minute cramming.

  1. Work component by component. Each module on this site targets one part of the course; revise the skills that part assesses.
  2. Start from the text. Research and analyse before making practical or critical choices, so your work is grounded.
  3. Master your Performance option. Drill the acting, directing or design craft you have chosen, aiming to communicate a concept.
  4. See theatre attentively. Watch professional productions and practise analysing and attributing their impact for the Assignment.
  5. Start the dissertation early. Narrow your topic, engage a practitioner in depth, and draft, reference and redraft over time.

The components, skill by skill

Each module has answer pages with worked questions and cross-links. Browse the full set from this hub.

For the official course specification

The SQA publishes the full Advanced Higher Drama course specification, the coursework assessment tasks, and the marking instructions at sqa.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and SQA documents, because the option requirements, the word count and the assessment arrangements are board-specific and have changed in recent sessions.

Drama guides

In-depth written guides with paired practice quizzes.

See all β†’

Drama practice quizzes

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

The SQA-ADVANCED-HIGHER system, explained

See all β†’

Common questions about Drama

How is SQA Advanced Higher Drama structured?
Advanced Higher Drama is an SCQF level 7 course assessed by a practical Performance and two pieces of written coursework. The Performance is worth 50 marks: the candidate chooses one option, acting, directing or design, and realises a coherent performance concept for a text in front of a visiting assessor. The Assignment, worth 20 marks, is a written analysis of a professional theatrical production and at least one practitioner, completed under controlled conditions. The project-dissertation, worth 30 marks, is an independent research project of 2,500 to 3,000 words. The course builds on Higher Drama and approaches university-level study.
How is SQA Advanced Higher Drama assessed and graded?
The award is graded A to D from a total of 100 marks. The Performance is worth 50 marks and is assessed practically by a visiting assessor. The Assignment is worth 20 marks and is a written analytical response produced under controlled conditions with a resource sheet of no more than 250 words. The project-dissertation is worth 30 marks and is marked externally. The practical Performance is the single largest component, so the course rewards both performance skill and the analytical and research skills of the two written components.
What are the three Performance options in Advanced Higher Drama?
A candidate chooses one of three options for the 50 mark Performance: acting, directing or design. The acting option builds and sustains a role, typically a contrasting interactive piece and a monologue from two different plays. The directing option turns an interpretation of a text into staging, working with actors in a rehearsal. The design option realises a design concept through set, costume, lighting, sound, props and make-up. All three begin with research and textual analysis and are judged on a coherent performance concept communicated to an audience.
What does the Advanced Higher Drama Assignment involve?
The Assignment, worth 20 marks, asks you to research, investigate and analyse a professional theatrical production you have experienced and the work of at least one practitioner in it, chosen from actor, director or designer. The production must be a play, not a musical, pantomime or ballet, and may be live, live-streamed, recorded as a live performance, or historical. You then answer one of two set questions under controlled conditions, supported by a resource sheet of no more than 250 words. The marks reward analysis and evaluation of how specific choices created meaning and impact, not description of the plot.
What is the Advanced Higher Drama project-dissertation?
The project-dissertation is an independent written research project of 2,500 to 3,000 words, worth 30 marks and marked externally. You choose a drama topic, frame a research question, engage with at least one influential theatre practitioner, and present a sustained, referenced line of argument that reaches a reasoned conclusion. Quotations count towards the word limit, but footnotes and the bibliography do not. It rewards a focused question argued well, with substantive practitioner engagement, far above a broad survey of a topic.
How should I revise for SQA Advanced Higher Drama?
Work component by component. For the Performance, start from research and textual analysis, fix a coherent concept, and rehearse your acting, directing or design option to communicate it to an audience. For the Assignment, see professional theatre attentively, learn the vocabulary of acting, directing and design, and practise attributing impact to specific choices under timed conditions. For the project-dissertation, start early, narrow your topic to a precise question, engage a practitioner in depth, and draft and reference carefully. Across all three, study the influential practitioners and the acting, directing and design concepts the course rewards.