Spoilt for choice!
All pupils in Years 7-9 receive a weekly hour of music and follow a varied programme of study designed to increase musical knowledge and skill and encourage creativity via regular listening, performance and composition work. Class singing is a regular part of the music curriculum and we make excellent use of our advanced music technology resources from Year 7 onwards.
Music has good option numbers at GCSE and A-level where pupils follow the Eduqas syllabus. Examination results for Music at The Queen’s School are excellent and pupils regularly go on to study music at universities and conservatoires. We are fortunate to have many talented pupils at Queen’s - a number of girls have been successful in gaining choral scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge for degrees in a wide range of disciplines, and girls regularly take part in external performances, such as three of our pupils who were honoured to sing in the Royal Wedding at Chester Cathedral.
The aims of the department are:
- To promote an appreciation and enjoyment of music in pupils of a wide range of musical abilities.
- To develop sensitivity towards music through personal experience by the exercise of imagination and acquisition of skills and knowledge.
- To provide intellectual and aesthetic stimulation.
- To provide an appropriate body of knowledge and understanding and develop skills as a basis for further study or leisure or both.
We believe that all pupils should have the opportunity to make music, whether in a choir or an instrumental ensemble, and offer a variety of these in the extended curriculum. Our current co-curricular music provision includes the following: Junior Choir, Senior Choir and Chamber Choir, Junior and Senior Orchestras, Jazz band, pupil led clubs such as Ukulele group, Rock and Pop, and Composition club. We work closely with the drama department and this year delivered a spectacular musical production of "We Will Rock you" involving a cast of girls from Years 7-13.
Instrumental, vocal and music theory lessons are taught by a well-qualified and experienced visiting team of 10 peripatetic music staff and the School hosts Associated Board music examinations each term. Each year we have a Queen's School Festival of Music and House choir competition where girls from beginner to advanced levels can perform to each other and receive feedback from a team of experienced adjudicators. A variety of concerts throughout the year provide opportunities for soloists and ensembles.
Close collaboration with the drama department enables us to run Musical theatre trips. Recently girls have been to see Hamilton and Wicked.