Music

Music in the Curriculum

Every child in the school has at least one class lesson a week. These lessons take place in either the main music room or the new music and dance studio, and are delivered by qualified teachers who are also experienced musicians. In these lessons, children are encouraged to build on their practical and methodical musical skills – listening, composing and performing. Through these extensive areas of study, our aim is to enable each child to have a firm understanding and appreciation of music by the time they finish Year 8.

Pupils are encouraged to take part in various musical projects during the school year, including the cross-curricular Shakespeare Project (where they must compose an Elizabethan madrigal) and the up and coming Composition Competition, exclusively developed in association with Bang & Olufsen.

Extra-curricular Music

Music forms an important part of every child’s daily activities at St Bede’s. Whether starting the day with a Chapel service or group singing experiences with SingSong, children are regularly exposed to top quality musical performances by resident and visiting professional musicians. There are currently around 250 individual music lessons taught a week in the department by 18 peripatetic music staff. There are 5 choirs, 2 orchestras, recorder groups, a wind band, jazz band, Djembe group, Samba Group, and numerous rock bands that operate with assistance from our specialist music teachers. Our school Chamber Choir is perhaps the busiest of all our ensembles, regularly providing music for church services and weddings in the local area, and fulfilling an annual commitment to sing at Norwich Cathedral. Our musicians are also regularly called upon to provide music for plays and musicals produced by the Drama Department. These have recently included ‘Joseph’ and ‘Little Shop of Horrors’.