Music

We strive to inspire students to develop a love of music, provide opportunities for all, to grow as individual musicians and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.

Key Stage 3

Students at KS3, study Music for 1 hour each week and the lessons are structured so that students can build on their skills, understanding and knowledge:

Year 7 students Study Popular music, Keyboard Music and Descriptive Music
Year 8 students study Reggae Music, Songs from Musicals, Western Classical Music and Film Music.
Year 9 students study Popular Music, Samba Music, Western Classical Music and Music for Video games.

The following opportunities are integrated into KS3 lessons:

Performing, listening to, reviewing and evaluating music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions.
Learning to sing and to use voices, to create and compose music individually and with others, learning an instrument and using music technology.
Understanding and exploring how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the Elements of Music and appropriate musical notations.

Key Stage 4

Exam Board: OCR – Specification can be viewed here

Music is a popular option for GCSE. The course allows students to develop technique, creativity and understanding of music through assignments in a series of areas of studies including:

The concerto through time
Rhythms of the world
Conventions of popular music
Film and game music

Students enjoy the practical nature of this GCSE subject. The weighting for the assessment of the course is as follows:

30% Performance (1 solo performance and 1 ensemble performance)
30% Composition (2 compositions)
40% Listening exam (1 exam)

The GCSE course provides a suitable foundation for further study such as A Level Music/Music Technology as well as being a practical subject enjoyed by most students.

Revision sessions and composition workshops are offered to GCSE students in year 11.

Music is a popular option for GCSE. The course allows students to develop technique, creativity and understanding of music through assignments in a series of areas of studies including:

The concerto through time
Rhythms of the world
Conventions of popular music
Film and game music

Students enjoy the practical nature of this GCSE subject. The weighting for the assessment of the course is as follows

30% Performance (1 solo performance and 1 ensemble performance)

30% Composition (2 compositions)

40% Listening exam (1 exam)

The GCSE course provides a suitable foundation for further study such as A Level Music/Music Technology as well as being a practical subject enjoyed by most students.

Extra-curricular activities:

The extra-curricular programme is popular and well attended by the students.

Each year, the Arts Faculty work together on extra-curricular projects including musical productions and Summer Arts Festivals. Recent and very successful musical productions have included Sweeney Todd, Grease, Les Misérables-School’s Edition, Little Shop of Horrors and many more. Over 100 students are involved in the productions each year including cast, orchestra and the backstage team. We are also very lucky to have a professional team that provide sound and lighting and a team of very talented design and technology and Art teachers that design and build the set for each of the events.

The Summer Arts Festival is always very popular and encourages students of all ages and abilities to perform and exhibit their work in an informal atmosphere. At such events , we have celebrated music performed by string ensembles, stage bands, samba bands, pop choirs, small ensembles, solo performances and much more.

The GCSE concert is going to return this year to celebrate work from our year 10 and 11 GCSE musicians. Friends and family will be invited to enjoy the event.

Other extra-curricular opportunities have included performing at Anglia Learning Trust events in Cambridge, workshops with West End performer (and ex-student), Rhys Whitfield who stared as Raoul in Phantom of the Opera, creating music with the RPO and Evelyn Glennie and performing together at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, performances at the Cambridge Christmas light switch-on, singing to residents in local residential homes, attending King’s College Carol Service and trips to the West End.

Instrumental Lessons

The music department has a strong and very talented team of instrumental teachers that visit the school on a weekly basis providing lessons for students wishing to study the Piano, Guitar, Percussion, Strings, Woodwind and Voice.