The academic Music department is passionate about broadening and deepening our pupils’ understanding and appreciation of music – at all levels. The wide scope of our Music courses empowers pupils of all abilities – whether or not they consider themselves to be musical – to develop their creative, performing, analytical and critical abilities.

In KS3 we discover what music we like, what music we might not like (yet), and crucially, why. Studying Music gives pupils the opportunity to cultivate an exceptionally wide set of skills, and to experiment with styles and genres beyond their personal comfort zones.

The GCSE course is similarly broad in scope, and follows the Edexcel syllabus. As well as exploring music written in diverse styles, pupils perform and compose music according to their own strengths and interests. For their compositions, pupils can use the department’s extensive music technology facilities, while the performing element of the course is led by our impressive team of visiting Music teachers.

A Level is also Edexcel. Again, the curriculum is structured around the three key skills of performing, composing and listening/appraising – and the interrelationship between them.

In Sixth form we combine classes with VCJ, and study a hugely varied range of set works, from Baroque too the most avant-garde, giving students a thorough appreciation of the wide musical world.