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Inspection report 2010
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Music
What will your child study?
By Year 9 we aim for students to work independently upon composition and further their skills and experience in using computer software such as Sibelius and Cubase.
At GCSE Pupils taking our OCR GCSE music have found the course both approachable and rewarding and our pupils consistently achieve very high standards. Much of the Music GCSE is coursework based, with pupils undertaking a number of performances during the course and presenting a small portfolio of compositions at the end of it. There is also a listening exam which allows pupils to apply their musical knowledge and understanding that they have gained through their studies.
We now offer three main routes to the exam for GCSE students:
- The regular curriculum route in Years 10 and 11, with the exam taken and coursework presented at the end of Year 11.
- An ‘extension’ curriculum route where students take the GCSE exam in Year 10 and then follow our own department-devised course in Year 11. This is the preferred route for those who are considering Sixth Form music study.
- Extra-curricular ‘fast-track’ music which is currently taught on Wednesdays after school. Students are also expected to make use of the Thursday and Friday lunchtime composition ‘surgeries’. This route is normally for Year 10 students who have the ability and musical experience to tackle an eleventh GCSE at great speed: it is not recommended for anyone considering Pre-U study in the Sixth Form.
