Music

Music is taught throughout the school

All pupils in Years 7-9 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 Eduquas syllabus. Examination results for Music at The Queen’s School are excellent and pupils regularly go on to study music at universities and conservatoires. A number of girls have been successful in gaining choral scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge for degrees in a wide range of disciplines.

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 extracurricular music provision includes the following: Junior Choir, Senior Choir and Chamber Choir, Junior and Senior Orchestras, Ukulele group and a number of chamber ensembles including Clarinet Ensemble, Flute Ensemble, Brass Ensemble and String Ensemble. We work closely with the drama department and this year delivered a fantastic musical production of "Matilda" 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 where girls from beginner to advanced levels can perform to each other and receive feedback from a team of experienced adjudicators.