Music
The Music Department seeks to provide opportunities for students outside the timetabled curriculum through an extensive range of extra-curricular activities. The Youth Choir has toured extensively in recent years, giving concerts in Austria, Holland, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Spain as well as in the UK.
The Department aims, in collaboration with the Drama Department, to produce a musical production every other year and successes have included the whole school production of ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘Oliver’, ‘Annie’, ‘The Wizard of Oz’, 'My Fair Lady' and ‘Anything Goes’. These are in addition to a regular programme of concerts throughout the school year.
The Music Department makes a significant contribution to the liturgical life of the school, with students performing regularly in Masses and other celebrations throughout the school and in our local community.
KEY STAGE 3
All students follow a course designed to deliver the National Curriculum. Through group and individual composition and performance, students are able to explore a variety of musical ideas, styles and conventions so developing their confidence, communication skills and powers of creativity. By the end of KS3, students should be able to play and perform confidently in a range of solo and ensemble contexts using their voice, playing instruments. They should be able to compose by drawing on a range of musical structures, styles, genres and traditions. They will learn Music Theory and use staff and other relevant notations appropriately and identify and use the interrelated dimensions of music including the use of major and minor types of scales. They will listen to a wide range of music from great composers and musicians and develop an understanding of the music that they perform and to which they listen, and its history.
KEY STAGE 4 & 5
All students in KS4 were taught Music skills, knowledge and understanding throughout KS3 which underpins their ability to complete work at GCSE standard. Therefore, all students should enter Year 10 with an overview of the necessary key concepts. At GCSE work must demonstrate integrated knowledge, understanding and skills. Work is based around four areas of study, two compositions (a free composition and one based on a set brief from Eduqas) and two performances (one solo piece and one ensemble piece)
KS5
The EDUQAS A Level course is an engaging and exciting program of study which offers students the opportunity to be flexible in their choice of areas of study. The syllabus covers a broad range of musical genres including The Western Classical Tradition, Musical Theatre and Music from the Twentieth Century. Students can produce either performance or composition weighted coursework, allowing them to play to their strengths and this can be amended each year depending on the cohort. As part of the A Level, students are still required to produce both a composition and performance portfolio, with a live examiner coming to listen to students’ performances. This offers students the opportunity to experience live music making and develop their confidence in performance.
