What is the Curriculum within Music?

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. As students progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and listen with discrimination. Learning music helps to build confidence, helps children live happier, more enriched lives, and discover the joy of expressing themselves. Active music making with others promotes wellbeing, develops identity and builds self-esteem. The Key Stage 3 curriculum lasts for three years and covers the National Curriculum for Music. We aim to cover a broad range of knowledge and skills to develop young people’s musical skills via a wide variety of interrelated activities. Through performing, composing, listening to, reviewing and evaluating music, students develop their skills, and knowledge and understanding within the subject. Our approach is first and foremost for students to be actively making music. As a result, students will think more musically and consequently become more musical. We create opportunities for pupils to learn the key knowledge and skills needed and we regularly revisit topics deliberately and systematically in our long term planning to develop long term memory. The units of work undertaken at KS3 are specifically designed to foster and develop a love for the subject and create subject expertise whilst supporting progression onto KS4 and beyond.

Music at Key Stage 3

Our music curriculum is highly practical which motivates and inspires student engagement. Students perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and tradition, including the works of the great composers and musicians. They learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others. Students have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence. Our carefully planned curriculum nurtures key knowledge and skills via both practical and theoretical experiences. We strongly believe for students to have a deep and meaningful understanding of performing and composing, they are given a constant, drip fed ‘little and often’ approach to musical theory, as and when it is relevant to their learning. Students are taught how to understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, rhythm/duration, dynamics, tempo, sonority/timbre, texture, structure and appropriate notations.

GCSE Music at Key Stage 4

The Music GCSE curriculum is designed to build on the key knowledge and skills within the KS3 curriculum. The Music curriculum is highly practical and is designed for students to develop their performing and composing skills as well as fine-tuning their ability to analyse and appreciate music of a broad range of styles and genres. Through the course students improve individual and group performing skills. They learn how to compose , then develop musical ideas in a variety of styles from classical to popular. All students are encouraged to use music technology to assist them in creating and capturing high quality composition work. Students are taught to recognise contrasting genres, styles and tradition of music. Learners will improve skills in reading basic music notation. For those wishing to take their music making to the next level, importantly, it opens doors to our world-renowned music industry.

What will Students Learn in Music?

How are Students Assessed in Music?

In Music at Key Stage 3, we assess students’ understanding through a range of formative strategies. These include a range of questioning techniques and responsive teaching in lessons. Low Stakes Quizzing, plenary tasks and written analysis assess students' knowledge and understanding. Success Criteria is used to promote stretch and challenge. Extensive use of verbal feedback, peer and self assessment enables students to self regulate and make improvements to their work. Clear and direct feedback is offered to all students via the use of individual Verbal Feedback and Whole Class Feedback that is relevant covering common mistakes and/or correcting misconceptions. We deliberately build in ‘do now’ time into our lessons to enable students to act upon feedback and enable our teachers to re-teach some content where it is clear students have gaps in their knowledge and/or misconceptions

.In Music at Key Stage 4, we assess students’

• Performing skills (30%) - a minimum of two pieces, lasting a total of 4-6 minutes. One piece must be a group piece lasting at least one minute. Grade 3 music is the standard level and can score full marks if played perfectly.
• Composition skills (30%) - Two piece, one to a brief set by the examination board and one free composition - in any style.
• Appraising skills (40%) - Listening examination: 8 questions, 2 on each area of study.