Music

Teaching Staff

Mrs J. Hawthorne - Head of Department
Mrs P McCarroll

Aims

We, in the Music department, believe that we have an important role to play in the all-round development of our students and that the music we teach must provide our pupils with an enjoyable experience.

The Music Curriculum aims to empower pupils to achieve their potential and make informed and responsible choices and decisions throughout their lives. It is about helping all pupils prepare for life and work:

as individuals;
as contributors to society;
as contributors to the economy and the environment.

Music has a significant role to play in this.

The fundamental aim of the music curriculum is to develop pupils’ musical ability. All pupils are potentially musical and should be provided with learning experiences which develop their knowledge, understanding and skills in making and responding to music through active engagement in the core musical activities of composing, performing and listening.

Music develops pupils as individuals by:

giving pupils opportunities to create personal meaning through composing, performing and listening activities;
enabling pupils to express their own feelings through music;
building an appreciation of the diverse musical tastes of others;
encouraging pupils to explore and experiment creatively in a variety of situations.

Music develops pupils as contributors to society by:

developing the skills central to understanding and responding to music;
developing pupils’ awareness of how music influences behaviour;
developing an understanding of music from different periods, styles and cultural traditions that are different from their own;
developing an understanding of the power of music in evoking mood and atmosphere.

Music develops pupils as contributors to the economy and environment by:

developing pupils’ ability to be discriminating consumers of music as a result of their own experiences in making and responding to music;
developing pupils’ awareness and understanding of the skills required to be successful within the music industry (and how many of those skills and qualities are also highly valued throughout the world of work in all types of employment).

Curriculum

Key Stage 3

Key Stage 3 experiences in Music will provide a robust basis for learning at Key Stage 4. During Years 8-10, pupils will listen to, perform and compose a wide variety of music. Some examples of areas of study are: Music and the Media, Chord Sequences, Jazz Music, Writing a Song, Music for Special Occasions and Rock and Roll.

For those pupils who opt not to continue with further study of Music, their experiences during the key stage should have provided them with the musical knowledge, understanding and skills necessary to help them engage meaningfully with real and relevant issues in their world.

GCSE

In Newry High School, pupils are given the opportunity to study Music at G.C.S.E. Those students who follow this course are entered for C.C.E.A. examinations.

G.C.S.E. pupils study music related to the topics ‘Repeated Patterns’, ‘Vocal Music’ and Orchestral Music’.

A Level

Pupils are given the opportunity to study Music to A.S. and A2 levels. Students who follow this course are entered for C.C.E.A. examinations.

A.S. students study the development of ‘The Musical’ while those at A2 standard study the development of Jazz Music and Orchestral Music of the Twentieth Century.