Class music lessons start in Reception. They are taught by music specialists and cover the skills and knowledge as specified in the National Curriculum for music. In Pre-Prep, pupils learn through the Kodàly approach and this develops the fundamentals of pitch and rhythm. In year 2, the pupils all learn the keyboard and violin in addition to their Pre-Prep Choir sessions. The children benefit from both singing and use of instruments in their lessons, there are regular concerts including an annual Christmas concert involving singing, dancing and acting, which gives all the children an opportunity to demonstrate their talents. Parents and friends are always welcome to the performances.

In Year 3 and 4, pupils continue their keyboard skills with Keyboard Kung Fu and start to learn recorder with Recorder Karate. They continue their singing with one hour of Junior Choir per week. In Years 5 and 6, pupils continue to have one hour of Music per week and develop their skills through listening critically, evaluating, performing, composing, improvising and learning to become independent musicians. The stimulus for composing comes from a wide range of pieces from many cultures and styles. Where possible, classes prepare performances for wider audiences such as school assemblies and instrumental concerts. 

The foundation of the Year 7 – 9 course consists of Listening, Performing and Composing. Pupils have one hour per week for music and we develop instrumental skills alongside music technology skills. We listen to music from a wide range of styles and historical periods, learning about the instruments, structures and traditions. The Model Music Curriculum is used as the foundation of the course content.

Music GCSE is offered as an option for Year 10 and 11. We follow the Eduqas specification. Pupils use Noteflight as their composition software. This course is weighted for Performing (30%), Composing (30%) and Appraising (40%). The set works are currently Bach’s Badinerie (BVW 1067) and Toto’s Africa.

The Music Department is vibrant and long-established: we have a strong curriculum, enhanced by a super team of visiting music teachers. There are well over 100 individual instrumental and vocal lessons taking place each week in school and pupils take places in the National Children’s Orchestra and the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain. Individual instrumental and vocal lessons are available to all pupils from Year 3 and there are special arrangements for younger pupils with special interest in Music.

We have three choirs (Pre-Prep Choir, Junior Choir and Senior Choir) and the Senior Choir enjoy a three-night tour abroad biennially. Our Orchestra plays music in a variety of styles and we have four concerts annually that celebrate the performances of all that have individual music lessons. We have a number of Guitar and Ukulele groups and a Percussion Group and Folkestra (folk group).

The two musical highlights of the year are the Carol Service and the Summer Sequence Concert. The Carol Service is held in St James the Greater, Leicester and involves all pupils from Year 3 to Year 11. The massed choir of all pupils is extremely impressive and is an accurate representation of our belief in music for all. We also showcase our Junior Choir, Senior Choir and Orchestras in the Carol Service.

We are very proud of the results from our ABRSM, Trinity and Rockschool exams across a range of instruments. We help the candidates to find this a positive and worthwhile musical experience. We also believe in the rigour of musical training and have two after school Music Theory sessions and regularly enter pupils for these exams.

Our annual Arts Festival includes instrumental and vocal performances from Year 3 – 11 and highlights the exceptional talent in the school. We also have workshops from visiting organisations in order to broaden the range of music experiences that our pupils can have.

Our assemblies often feature hymn singing and we have a hymn practice twice a term. Assemblies often showcase instrumental performances from pupils and are used to celebrate successes.