Music

Music is a subject for everyone. It is something we can all benefit from. Your health can be improved by singing, your confidence can be improved by performing and your ability to express yourself can be felt through composing. We listen to and analyse music to guide us in making decisions about the music we make and enjoy. Our aim is for everyone to have access to music and the benefits and enjoyment it brings. We want to challenge you to achieve your best in whatever your chosen medium is and guide you towards careers in this country’s most successful industry.

We encourage learning about music from a diverse background to inspire you. We study music from popular music culture, film, through western classical history and styles of music from around the world. Looking at music you know and new music in styles you have not heard before, we will inspire you to create your own compositions, learn to produce music using music software, and perform at the highest standards. We offer a large number of opportunities outside our curriculum to enhance your options and experiences even further. Fundamentally, if you are interested in it than so are we.

Curriculum

At Key Stage 3 we take you on a journey building your skills in composition, listening, appraising and performing (CLAP!). We teach you to decode musical scores, perform on the keyboard, ukulele, drum kits, xylophones and glockenspiels. We use our voices to express ourselves with singing, sound effects and spoken word. We study topics from around the world including Indonesian Gamelan, Reggae, and Latin America. We compose our own pieces and learn how to use industry standard music technology to get you ready for careers such as music producers, editors and composers. We study popular music from Blues, Rock, Britpop and Grunge to Disco, Hip-hop and EDM. We take you on amazing journeys through the musicals of Hamilton and West Side Story, and teach you to emotionally manipulate your listeners with Leitmotifs and film music.

At Key Stage 4 we study the Eduqas syllabus. The focus is performing and composing in the styles of music you love. We study popular music, film music, all types of ensembles from orchestras and string quartets to Rock bands and Jazz quintets. We study where western styles of music come from and how picking these apart teaches us how they were so successful – this allows us to apply these skills to our own creations.

At Key Stage 5 we study musicals in detail getting to know the work of the big composers. We look at West Side Story, Les Miserables, Wicked, Sweeney Todd, Oklahoma and many more. We learn about the history and development of the symphony starting at the beginning of the Classical era and taking the journey to 1900. It helps us understand how the great composers wrote such outstanding pieces that not only do we still listen to today but we use their musical emotional language in everything we write and listen. In Year 13 we link up our listening with the 20th century with the expressionist, impressionist and neoclassical writers such as Debussy and Poulenc. Again, all of this is surrounded by your own practice as you refine your skills as a performer and composer.

Our Music curriculum is driven by refining skills, vocabulary and knowledge at each level. Using each element of the course to support and drive our understanding and helping us become better musicians. Throughout the curriculum literacy is focused around developing the vocabulary to be able to describe music based on the musical elements. We use the acronym MADTSHIRT standing for: Melody, Articulation, Tonality, Structure, Harmony, Instrumentation, Rhythm and Texture. These are introduced as terms from the first topic in Year 7 and the vocabulary expands to describe each of these elements throughout the pupil’s time studying music.

We work closely with industry professionals in a number of areas from production and composition, management to performance. We work with classical, popular and world musicians.

As not everyone will work directly in the music industry we see the importance of recognising and referencing the bass skills that we develop in music, supporting pupils in all careers. Teaching pupils to perform gives them the skills to confidently talk in front of others and come across as confident in interviews. We teach them how to really listen; breaking down what they hear and listening for something new each time. Working in groups to produce a performance, they learn how to support each other in individual roles to produce a cohesive, polished product. Describing and referencing in detail is key to analysis. Understanding cultures from around the world is key. People interact through their culture and learning about these culture guides us to being a global citizen. Music teaches the skills of emotional understanding and reflection, giving yourself time to explore your emotions and understand those of others. Music is based on a language built around numeracy skills, notation itself being a form of algebra and a language. This holistic approach is key to our curriculum and in building rounded people.

Approaches to Learning and Assessment

Music should be engaging and practical. Our lessons and schemes of work at all ages aim to allow pupils to explore with guidance. It is our belief that pupils learn concepts best by approaching them using a variety of tasks. We listen to and model examples and the pupils experience their learning by physically trying concepts.

Assessment takes place throughout the curriculum, low stakes and informal assessment is used to help build pupils confidence. This takes the form of questioning, practical activities, listening and research based tasks. All assessment should be formative and pupils receive feedback on what they have excelled at but also what they can do next to expand their knowledge and skills, setting targets for future progress.

Pupils are more formally assessed during each topic. They will complete a formal listening, theory and context test on each topic. The skills build throughout their time with us, checking on learning from the immediate topic, but also their increasing knowledge of notation, and musical vocabulary. Pupils complete a minimum of one assessed practical during each topic, in a formal capacity this is roughly one practical and one listening assessment per half term. We build pupils confidence in performance and composition and develop their ability to perform their work in front of others as each pupil needs.

Supporting Individual Students

Pupils come to music with a very varied set of experiences and skills. We believe in making our Music lessons accessible and fun for all but with the support to become the best they can be.

Pupils with additional needs receive structuring with their areas of need, whether that be with literacy or support in managing working in a group.

We are now offering group music therapy sessions for selected pupils to help support their mental health and wellbeing.

We believe in supporting pupils with additional needs to grow not only through the curriculum but also in supporting their growth in self-confidence. We are currently the lead school in a research project into the benefits of drumming for pupils with socio-emotional needs alongside the Clem Burke Drumming Project and Hartpury University. This is a funded research project that is proving to have fantastic results. Pupils are selected by staff if they show they would benefit from support and attend free group drumming lessons. Feedback from pupils, staff and parents has been hugely positive.

At Key Stages 4 and 5 we provide individual support for pupils in composition and performance, and if needed in areas with their theory and analysis.

Stretch and challenge is of real importance in music as pupils can come to us already playing an instrument and reading music fluently, but equally may never have studied music at primary school. Pupils are set targets individually and activities are differentiated to allow each pupil to work at the level that pushes them to use and expand on their skills. For example in Year 7, when learning about notation, most pupils will need to learn the treble clef, having not studied this before. If pupils do read treble clef we teach them bass clef using tasks that work alongside the rest of the class. Pupils who read both clefs fluently can be set extension tasks for other tasks to expand their theory and knowledge of score.

This is also true in practical activities, for example if we are learning keyboard skills, pupils will have a range of levels of piece to choose from. Starting with a right hand basic melody, then adding in more decorations, complex rhythms or leaps for the hand. The melody may be expanded in length. We then look at adding in the left hand using pedals, drone and then chords. Chords can then be developed into moving parts for the left hand. For more able pianists we have more complex versions of the same pieces or pieces that fit with our topics but are incrementally more challenging. This level of adaption is planned into all of our tasks to help pupils achieve at their own level.

Extra-curricular Opportunities

We try to offer opportunities that will interest pupils from all musical backgrounds including; saxophone group, music tech club, orchestra, harp ensemble, wind ensemble, string group, ‘Back in Black’ Big Band and choir.

We have 11 Practice Rooms which pupils can book on a Monday break-time for the week ahead. These can be used for individual or group practices. We encourage pupils to build their own bands and groups.

We offer many opportunities throughout the year for performance.

Teatime Concerts – these happen once a term, in the weeks that run up to external instrumental exams. They are designed to help pupils practice performing in an informal small concert setting. These take place in our beautiful practical music classroom and are performed to the parents of the pupils involved. These are led by our music ambassadors who also perform as preparation for their A Level performance exam.

Christmas concerts – We hold two official Christmas Concerts.

Our Christmas Bonanza Concert celebrates our popular music performers, pupil groups and bands, soloists, Back in Black and our pupil’s compositions. It also highlights performance that pupils have made in the curriculum. We also open this concert to our feeder primary schools, whose pupils join us to work on making a ‘megachoir’, learning songs through a day workshop at the school.

Our official Christmas Service is held at Christ Church, Cheltenham and is a showcase of our school groups; Orchestra, Choir, Wind, String, Harp and Guitar ensembles. Pupils are selected from across the year groups to perform solos and small group pieces. This is a real display of the pupils performing at their peak and gets us all fully in the Christmas spirit.

Easter Concert – Our Easter Concert is held in Bourton Church. This is the final concert for our Sixth Formers each year and we offer them the solo roles to perform the piece they have perfected for their A Level performances. We hear our school groups perform: Orchestra, Choir, Wind, Strings, Harps, Guitars, Saxophones and our composers work is also on show.

Back in Black Summer Term Tour – Our amazing big band Back in Black spend the summer term performing at a number of large scale events – they can always be seen at The Cheltenham Jazz Festival and Condicote Jazz Festival to name a couple!

Cadence Festival – Presenting The Cotswold School’s own Festival of Arts. This event is a showcase for all the work of pupils from The Cotswold School.

Our Art and DT Exhibitions show the huge talent on display; the gymnasts and dancers put on a show for your enjoyment in the sports hall; Drama showcase their work in the theatre and hall; Robotics get you ready to battle; English have a poetry slam; get involved in a chess tournament in the Keswick room or a cricket match on the back field. Whatever your interests we have something for you. All of this is accompanied by two stages full of the music from the school, our groups, soloists, bands and music classwork from the curriculum. Joined in the evening by local and professional musicians.

Other Experiences

To help our pupils aspire to the top of every musical profession we offer a range of opportunities for pupils throughout the year.

Workshops Throughout the year we offer sessions with professional performers, from individuals on a range of instruments and in a variety styles of music. We offer workshops too with to industry professionals from the worlds of popular music production, musical theatre, opera, jazz and classical music, as well as talks from speakers for schools.

Trips to Concerts and Musicals Throughout the year we run a variety of trips to see performances of every type. From Symphonies with prestigious orchestras to west end musicals and everything in between.

London Residential offered to our Year 8 and 9 pupils to inspire them before taking music at GCSE, we take pupils to London to stay overnight in university halls. Whilst in London we take them to do a variety of activities, from workshops with the musicians in west end productions such as the Lion King or Wicked, to visits to the Royal College of Music, the national theatre, the Handel/Hendrix Experience and BBC Concerts.

Sharing Success

Recent achievements by pupils

Emily Hancock – National Harp Ensemble, Theo Mountford – Gloucestershire Youth Choir and organist, Flora Kenning – Successful Singer songwriter. Current releases on iTunes and Spotify and Loxie Chiles – Successful Singer songwriter. Current releases on iTunes and Spotify.

Alumni

Bethan Callow – Taking Liberal Arts at Edinburgh University, Kate Jacovides – Choral Scholarship to Cambridge University, Jenny Morafkova – Successful singer songwriter. Current releases on iTunes and Spotify

Alba Eyra – Released her third album recently and is funding her university study to be a vet using her music. Find her on youtube, iTunes and Spotify, Grace Clare – Sound Engineer, Conor Biddington – Composer, currently completing a Composition Masters, Zoe Jenkins – Music Degree at Cardiff University, Laura Harrison – Saxophonist, Anna Roberts – studying Music at University.

Key Stage 3 overview

To find out more, please see the attached overview for further information – Key Stage 3 Overview

Key: Assessments in red, students in a set room in yellow, focus instruments in green, topic titles in black