Music is central to the creative life of our school. Weekly class music lessons start from Foundation and are a key part of our curriculum. Music lessons are rooted in knowledge with a strong emphasis on performance. From Foundation through to Year 6, music lessons are designed to nurture and challenge all our children to become accomplished young musicians, sharing their achievements through regular individual and group performances.
Our progressive online curriculum called Charanga gives pupils a strong grounding in world music and provides them with the opportunity to compare musical periods and styles. Musical genres like hip hop are introduced to the children in year one and later revisited in year five where pupils learn the famous Fresh Prince of Bel Air rap and how this music has since inspired more contemporary rap artists that they are already familiar with.
The great classical composers are not forgotten about either. Pupils learn of the rich concertos of Bach, the instruments of Beethoven’s symphonies and the big band sounds of Glen Miller and his orchestra to name a few!
Opportunities for pupils to explore diverse cultures through music are an integral part of our curriculum and pupils are encouraged to revisit and build upon knowledge learnt within subjects like art and RE when discussing musical periods in history and influences.
Each week, our pupils participate in vibrant singing assemblies where they develop a range of voice and performance skills. Singing from an established repertoire, children explore a broad and diverse range of songs and compositions that compliment their wider creative curriculum. Classes regularly perform their focus songs during whole school assemblies which often include showcasing their developing instrumental skills alongside vocal technique.
In addition to weekly class music lessons, our pupils are invited to join a wealth of extra curricular activities that we offer including choral groups, rock bands and individual lessons in violin, guitar and keyboard. Our curriculum is deliberately ambitious with the hope that it inspires our pupils to develop a life long love for such an important art form whilst also providing them with the specific knowledge and skills required to study music at a higher level.