Music at Wilsthorpe is a forward-thinking and exciting subject area. Curriculum lessons are taught by class teachers and supported by a dedicated team of visiting instrumental tutors, with students learning instruments such as Guitar, Drums, Singing, Clarinet, Violin and Music Production to name just a few. Extracurricular activities thrive in the music department and we have countless clubs from the String Orchestra to various Rock bands. We have 4 fully equipped rehearsal rooms, including a mini recording studio, and two classroom sets of computers to record music digitally with.
The Music Department strives to allow all students to access music in a variety of different ways and aims for all students to achieve their full potential in this subject. We put on 2 concerts annually, ‘Winter Warmer’ and ‘Summer Festival’ to celebrate our success and showcase the musical talent of students at Wilsthorpe. We also contribute to the yearly Musical through vocal coaching and stage band rehearsals.
Music lessons are 2 hours per fortnight. Within the program of study in KS3, students cover Composition, Performance, Appraising, Theory, Music Technology and Listening. This helps prepare them for their future KS4 and KS5 studies.
Year 7 topics include Elements of Music, Rhythm, hooks and Riffs, Festive Chords, Beethoven and a whole-year-group performance to end the Summer term with.
Year 8 topics include Blues, Holst’s Planets Suit, Podcast / Radio show, World Music and Live Lounge.
Year 9 topics include Minimalism, Film Music, Rap and Hip Hop, Live Lounge and a design your own brief scheme called Baby BTEC.
With this broad range of topic, students learn about cultures and how music can be used in the professional industry, therefore giving them a greater understanding of the importance of Music as a whole.
At KS4 the Music curriculum follows the Level1/2 BTEC Tech award in Music practice specification. This is perfect for students who have an interest in music and who can sing or play an instrument. There are opportunities to take part in a wide variety of musical activities within school, to help students get the most out of the course.
Alongside the timetabled 3 lessons per week students will also be asked to have instrumental or vocal lessons to support their KS4 learning. These can be either at school, which there are subsidies available for in certain cases, or through private tuition outside school. For more information on learning instruments in school please see Mrs Young.
Students learn about the various music products, develop valuable skills and techniques in music creation, performance and production and explore potential careers in the music industry.
During Component 1, students will explore different styles and genres of music, take part in practical workshops to understand the music creation process, learn about the different roles within the music industry and investigate relationships between different areas of the music industry.
During Component 2, students will reflect on their progress and focus on areas for improvement, choose a job role and explore the skills needed to fulfil it, develop a range of skills and apply those skills and techniques to taking part in a music performance, creation or production.
During Component 3, students will choose an area of the industry that excites them (composer, performer, or producer), explore the brief and come up with possible responses and ideas and use relevant resources, skills and techniques to develop and refine musical material. They will then present their final response (solo or in a group) then review and reflect their approach to the brief and their final outcome.
In Post 16 Music study, we follow the Level 3 ‘BTEC National in Music Performance’ suite of specifications. The course is aimed at learners who are interested in developing their music performance and their understanding of the music industry.
Learners taking this qualification will study three mandatory units and one optional Unit.
The three mandatory Units are:
- Unit 1: Practical Music Theory and Harmony
- Unit 2: Professional Practice in the Music Industry
- Unit 3: Ensemble Music Performance.
The optional Unit will come from either a Composing unit or a Solo Performance Unit, depending on the cohort.
The qualification is intended to carry UCAS points and is recognised by higher education providers as contributing to meeting admission requirements for many courses if it is taken alongside other qualifications.
For this course students should have a keen interest in music and be able to sing or play an instrument.
