Music
The Music Department aims to develop students’ musical understanding and enjoyment of music by actively engaging with music. Our diverse and progressive curriculum (and our extra-curricular offer) inspires and challenges students to become the best musicians they can be. The Music curriculum encourages students to develop their own musical ‘voice’, be inquisitive learners and have the courage and curiosity to challenge both themselves and existing schools of thought. Students will take pride in their work and are encouraged to be resilient as they perfect their work. We are exacting and aspirational in our expectations of our students. Indeed, many of our students go on to study music at university. Some have gone on to Conservatoires and Oxbridge.
Through a carefully constructed spiral curriculum model, students will perform, compose, and appraise music developing a network of knowledge and understanding along the way. Effective rehearsal techniques and musicianship behaviours are modelled and encouraged as we expect students to show respect to new genres and styles. They will demonstrate kindness and tolerance when working with staff and peers. We use the ‘Elements of Music’ as threshold concepts and this knowledge underpins our curriculum from Year 7 to Year 13. We draw from cognitive science, revisiting and embedding knowledge using a wide range of stimuli to deepen students’ knowledge, ensuring their understanding and awareness is both durable and deep.
For example, students in Year 7 develop a strong awareness of rhythm and metre, taking on concepts such as simple time signatures, ostinato, and basic polyrhythms. They will take responsibility for their own part in a rhythmic texture. By the end of Year 9 their understanding has extended to syncopation, swing and clave rhythms and phase shifting.
All students are encouraged to take part in extra-curricular activities and ensembles and will participate in concerts, festivals both as soloists and as members of ensembles. Our most advanced musicians take on leadership roles, often running sectional rehearsals or even arranging repertoire for younger musicians.
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