Dormers Wells High School has a thriving music department where students are given ownership of their own musical journeys.
Teachers have studied at world renowned institutions and bring their love of music to life in the classroom.
Music is taught in the classroom during a timetabled lesson and students are encouraged to be a part of our extra-curricular activities both as participants and as student leaders.
The key skills of listening, composing and performing are taught and developed from the very start of Key Stage 3 with students in Year 9 branching out and further developing their skills in preparation to study GCSE Music in Years 10 and 11.
Students have numerous opportunities to engage in extracurricular activities which allows them to showcase their performance skills throughout the year. We are very proud to be part of the MISST programme which is sponsored by Andrew Lloyd Webber and because of this, students get to participate in the following MISST events: Play Day, Together Day and the MISST concert on a yearly basis.
“I would teach children Music, Physics, and Philosophy; but most importantly Music, for the patterns in Music
and all the Arts are the keys to learning”
- Plato.
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key stage 3 |
At key stage 3, students follow the MISST programme of study. Every student is provided with either a wind or sting instrument (either clarinet, flute, violin or viola) and students start their musical journey to develop their knowledge, understanding and music skills of their allocated instrument.
During their music lessons students will complete various listening and theory tasks, learn to compose their own music as well as improve in confidence and skill when performing both solo and ensemble pieces of music, provided by MISST.
Students will develop an awareness of music technologies and their use in the creation and presentation of music. They will be taught to recognise contrasting genres, styles and traditions of music, and develop some awareness of musical chronology.
The curriculum enables them to engage with and appreciate the diverse heritage of music, to promote personal, social, intellectual and cultural development.
ASSESSMENT
Students are assessed through theory and listening tests, as well as their composition skills. In terms of their performance skills, they are assessed on their ability to play both solo and ensemble pieces. All students are assessed once per term and provided with specific feedback on how to improve.
All students are taught to develop their skills in self-evaluation and peer assessment, which develops further in Key Stage 4 if they go onto study music at GCSE level.
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key stage 4 |
In the very near future, we intend to offer to students the EDUQAS GCSE in Music, which places emphasis on practical exploration and creates opportunities for students to both compose and perform their own work.
During the course students will develop their composing skills to organise musical ideas. They will also engage actively in the process of music study to develop their performing skills individually and in groups to communicate musically.
Learners will develop knowledge, understanding and skills needed to communicate effectively as musicians. We aim to broaden students’ interests and musical experience and develop their imagination and foster creativity.
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