VCSE Performing Arts
RSL VCSE Performing Arts makes heavy literacy demands, much of them spoken. Learners research a genre and write or record a portfolio of up to 1500 words, analyse a live performance, interpret scripts, lyrics and repertoire, give a filmed evaluation, answer five questions in a filmed one-to-one Viva where communication skills earn half the marks, and justify their creative choices in a timed Audition presentation. Accurate discipline vocabulary runs through every unit. Numeracy is light and practical: rhythm, timing and counts for dance, music and musical theatre learners, keeping evidence within time and word limits, and planning 20 hours of Audition preparation.
- Awarding body
- RSL Awards
- Level
- Level 1 and Level 2
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Creative Project: Non-examined assessment, 70 GLH (about 30 hours of assessment time), 50%, 100 marks: Section A research portfolio 30 marks, Section B live filmed performance 50 marks, Section C live filmed evaluation presentation 20 marks. Based on RSL instructions, marked by the centre and moderated by RSL in the summer series
- Unit 2: Viva: Non-examined assessment, 14 GLH, 10%, 40 marks: a private, filmed one-to-one interview of up to 10 minutes in which the tutor asks five questions drafted from RSL topic areas, with no resources allowed. Criterion A communication skills 20 marks, Criterion B self-reflection and discipline knowledge 20 marks. Marked by the centre and moderated by RSL
- Unit 3: Audition: External assessment, 56 GLH (35 hours of teaching and 20 hours of supervised preparation, both mandatory), 40%, 80 marks: in a 30 minute filmed slot learners record a solo audition piece of up to 6 minutes (50 marks) and a 3 to 5 minute presentation answering two questions from the annual RSL brief (30 marks). Set and marked by RSL, taken in a four-week summer window
Skills that use Reading strategies
-
Interpreting the meaning of a script, lyric or piece
Learners interpret text or repertoire in both assessed performances, and for the Audition they study the full work their extract comes from, including the plot, themes, chosen role and story arc. Unit 3 Section B marks their understanding of the context and demands of the material and their interpretation of it.
Literacy: Reading strategies, Understanding, response and analysis
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils read a short scene from a Welsh play and highlight lines that show what a character wants but does not say.
- Year 8
- Pupils read the full lyrics of a musical theatre song, work out what has happened to the character before it, and annotate how that should change the delivery.
- Year 9
- Pupils read the whole play or musical an audition extract comes from, write a short note on the plot, themes and their character's journey, and explain how this changes their reading of the extract.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 3, Knowledge and Understanding, page 56; Unit 3, Section B and Mark Scheme, pages 63 and 64; Unit 1, Section B, page 22; Appendix a, Differentiation of Technical Skills, page 97
“Developing an understanding of the full work and applying this to the performance”
Progression step 3
I can infer ideas which are not explicitly stated, e.g. writer’s viewpoints or attitudes.
I can read closely, identifying and noting features of texts, e.g. introduction, sequence, illustrations, formality, key vocabulary.
Progression step 4
I can gain a full understanding of texts using inference, deduction and analysis.
I can read closely, follow up and use additional material in texts to extend my understanding.
Progression step 5
I can analyse and respond to texts and sub-texts, confidently understanding, interpreting and evaluating meaning.
I can read closely, analysing the content, language and impact of texts to deepen my understanding.
Good to know
- Communication is marked directly in the Viva: "Communication skills throughout the discussion are generally sound." is the Level 2 descriptor for Criterion A, worth 20 of the 40 Viva marks (Unit 2, page 47). No separate marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar are mentioned anywhere.
- Much of the evidence can be spoken rather than written: the portfolio "must not exceed 1500 words or 15 minutes audio/visual evidence" (Unit 1, Section A, page 21), and the Unit 1 evaluation, the Viva and the Unit 3 presentation are all spoken and filmed.
- The Viva is unscripted and unaided: "Learners will respond to five questions in their interview." (page 45) with no resources or phones, though "Asking follow up questions is permitted guidance" for the tutor (page 46). In the Unit 3 presentation "The teacher/tutor is not permitted to ask follow-up questions." (page 68).
- Assessment is "available in English and Welsh, or a combination of the two languages." (Section 5, page 76).
- Welsh content is compulsory: learners must "view and discuss at least one Welsh performance" in Unit 1 (page 13) and "explore the work of at least one Welsh practitioner" in Unit 3 (page 55).
- No calculation is assessed and calculator use is not mentioned. Numeracy appears only through timings and limits, such as "Performances must not exceed 6 minutes." (Unit 3, page 64).
- The Viva topic areas are listed differently in two places: page 45 includes "Understanding of their chosen discipline/s", while the Viva Assessor Record lists "Previous creative experiences" instead (Appendix e, page 104), so check the Viva Tutor Instructions before writing questions.
- No unit codes are printed: each unit page shows "Unit code:" with nothing after it (pages 13, 40 and 55), and the appendix letters cited in the text (A, B, C, D) do not match the printed appendices (b, c, d, e).
Links with other qualifications
Compared with WJEC VCSE Performing Arts, the RSL version is more spoken and less written: WJEC learners read job and creative briefs, write a CV and cover letter and answer short scenario questions in a sector test, while RSL learners write or record a research portfolio and are assessed on a spoken evaluation, a one-to-one Viva and an Audition presentation. WJEC also brings budgeting and measuring in through its costume, set and stage management pathways, which RSL does not offer. Analysing live performance and using subject vocabulary overlap with GCSE Drama, GCSE Dance and GCSE Music, the Viva closely matches the WJEC Skills Suite unit Interview and Confidence Techniques, and researching and referencing sources is shared with the WJEC Personal Project.
Source: RSL Level 1 / Level 2 VCSE Performing Arts Syllabus Specification, May 2026, covering qualifications from September 2027.