
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything
–Â Plato
Music
Our curriculum is designed to develop passionate, imaginative and inquisitive individuals, who see the world from an artistic perspective, enjoying and exploring music of various styles and genres from an array of different cultures. The curriculum prepares students to become independent and creative individuals.

Miss J Hart
Head of Music
Our music curriculum is designed to develop passionate, imaginative and inquisitive individuals, who see the world from an artistic perspective, enjoying and exploring music of various styles and genres from an array of different cultures. The curriculum is broad and ambitious and is rich in practical skills development. It prepares students to become independent and creative individuals and allows them to develop their knowledge and skills in the three main components of music:
 Our music curriculum is carefully designed and delivered to:
- give all students’ an enjoyable, practical and inspiring experiences so that they can enjoy all aspects of music (OPENING DOORS)
- give every student the opportunity to develop their musical potential and nurture and encourage them to continue their musical development throughout their school life
- build confidence through performance, composition and listening activities and develop self-discipline through rehearsal and preparation
- develop students’ appreciation and understanding of the rich and varied history of music from all over the world (OPENING MINDS)
- help develop students understanding of the cultural importance of music and give them opportunities to experience music through extra-curricular and enrichment activities, educational visits, playing an instrument and regular access to authentic materials (OPENING MINDS)
- develop students understanding of musical terminology, which includes the ability to apply it in new contexts when analysing different styles and genres and also the ability to use and understand these terms confidently in the discussion and evaluation of their own musical performances and compositions
- develop students’ transferable skills that they can use in all other areas of their learning.
Year 7, 8 and 9 Curriculum Content
Our three-year Key Stage 3 curriculum is designed to develop passionate, imaginative and inquisitive individuals, who see the world from an artistic perspective, enjoying and exploring music of various styles and genres from an array of different cultures. The curriculum is broad and ambitious and is rich in practical skills development. It prepares students to become independent and creative individuals and allows them to develop their knowledge and skills in the three main components of music: Performing, Composing & Theoretical Understanding/Listening & Appraising music.
Year 7 | Unit/Topic |
---|---|
Autumn HT1 | Unit 1: Understanding Music - Rhythm |
Autumn HT2 | Unit 2: Understanding Music - Keyboard Skills |
Spring HT1 | Unit 3: Music Ensembles |
Spring HT2 | Unit 4: Elements of Composition (Part 1) |
Summer | Unit 5: Elements of Composition (Part 2) |
Year 8 | Unit/Topic |
---|---|
Autumn HT1 | Unit 1: African Drumming |
Autumn HT2 | Unit 2: Blues and its Influences |
Spring HT1 | Unit 3: Beyond The Blues |
Spring HT2 | Unit 4: The Riff |
Summer | Unit 5: Hip Hop |
Year 9 | Unit/Topic |
---|---|
Autumn | Understand the origins and stylistic features of Reggae |
Spring | Understand how different genres of film/gaming music and is used to create an intended effect. |
Summer | Pop Music – 1960 to present day |
Year 10 and 11 Curriculum Content
At GCSE level students will be encouraged to engage critically and creatively with a wide range of music and musical contexts, and reflect on how music is used in the expression of personal and collective identities.
Year 10 | Unit/Topic |
---|---|
Autumn HT1 | Popular Music |
Autumn HT2 | Western Classical Tradition – 16-50 – 1910 (Baroque) |
Spring HT1 | Module 3: Western Classical Tradition -1650 – 1910 (Classical) |
Spring HT2 | Module 3: Western Classical Tradition -1650 – 1910 (Classical) |
Summer HT1 | Module 5: Western Classical Tradition - 1800 – 1910 (Romantic) |
Summer HT2 | Module 5: Western Classical Tradition - 1800 – 1910 (Romantic) |
Year 11 | Unit/Topic |
---|---|
Autumn HT1 | Western Classical Tradition Since 1910 |
Autumn HT2 | Unfamiliar Listening - Western Classical Tradition and Popular Music |
Spring HT1 | Traditional Music |
Spring HT2 | Completion of Set Brief composition, score and appraisal. |
Key Stage 4 Music students follow the AQA GCSE Music specification. For further details, please follow the link below.
Download Full GCSE Music Specification here
Key Stage 5 music students follow the AQA A Level Music or BTEC Level 3 Music Performance specification. For further details, please follow the link below.
Download Full A Level Music Specification here
Download Full BTEC Level 3 Music Performance Specification here
A Student’s View
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Oliver
Former Notre Dame student, went on to study English Literature at University of Cambridge