Music

We are committed at Faringdon Community College to allowing musical opportunities to be available to all students, whether that be through our ensembles or regular trips to see professional orchestras and other musical events. As an important part of culture, past and present, music helps students understand themselves, relate to other people and develop their cultural understanding of the world around them.

At FCC our music curriculum is designed to develop three main skills: performing, composing and appraising music. Throughout Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, students are introduced to a wide variety of musical genres from different cultures and historical periods, increasing their cultural, social and analytical understanding. Musical terminology is taught at Key Stage 3 and students are encouraged to discuss their ideas using the correct musical terms in preparation for the GCSE course. Our curriculum promotes challenge and supports students to develop life skills such as perseverance, teamwork and organisational skills, as well as build their confidence and sense of achievement. Music is a highly academic subject that requires a high level of application in Key Stages 4 and 5.

Students’ knowledge is regularly assessed through questioning and class discussions. Key Stage 3 students have topic booklets that are distributed termly. This helps retention of information and allows teachers to address any misconceptions quickly. Verbal feedback is used regularly and consistently to support student progress. Assessments take place at the end of each topic, once students have had an opportunity to implement the verbal feedback given. These take place in the form of practical work and/or composition and appraising music.

Concerts are organised throughout the year within the community as well as within school, providing students with an opportunity to perform in front of outside audiences, friends, family and fellow students. Biannually, the music, drama and dance departments join forces to stage a whole school production, most recently, Matilda. Once again, this is open for everyone to get involved in, both on stage and behind the scenes. We would encourage all singers to get involved in this.

We also run regular trips and workshops. Highlights of the 2023-2024 year so far include:

Workshop with the British Army Band Sandhurst for wind, brass and percussion players.
Bowed Strings Orchestra Day at another local school.
Regular performances in the local community, such as at the local primary schools.
50 students in Years 8-10 visited the Royal Festival Hall, London to watch the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Year 7 trip to see the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
A behind the scenes tour of the Royal Albert Hall.

We believe that music should be inclusive both within the curriculum but also through extra-curricular provision. We have many opportunities for students to enrich their musicality, including clubs such as FCC Concert Band and KS3 Band Club, which are available to all instrumentalists who want to further develop their ensemble skills. Although it is important that music is accessible to everyone, it is also important that the more able and ambitious students are challenged. Students in Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 can develop their leadership skills within the music department, mentoring the younger students and supporting other extracurricular activities. There is a ‘Music Challenge Club’ for Year 7 students to help them develop their music theory skills as this is a key component of musical study higher up the school.

Students can also access individual instrumental lessons with our peripatetic staff.

Key Stage 3

Our KS3 curriculum has been designed to provide a breadth of knowledge and cultural capital. We want students to appreciate different styles of music and gain a lifelong interest. Each year group studies three different topics, which are approximately thirteen lessons in length, allowing each topic to be studied in more detail. The sequence of topics has been designed so that performance, composition and analytical skills can be revisited and extended as each year group progresses, aiming to give all students the musical understanding necessary to prepare them for the start of the Key Stage 4 curriculum.

Key Stage 4

The teaching of the Key Stage 4 curriculum begins explicitly at the beginning of year 10. Currently, students have the option to either study GCSE Music, where we follow the Eduqas syllabus or study a vocational qualification, where we follow the BTEC Tech Award in Music Practice syllabus. This gives students of all abilities the opportunity to pursue music further.

Eduqas GCSE Music

At GCSE students have the opportunity to further explore and develop their musical skills. During the course there is more emphasis on individual study, with a large coursework element consisting of performance and composition. By the end of year 11 students should aim to be at least grade 3 standard on an instrument or voice. Once again, students' study and analyse a wide variety of genres, following four areas of study: Musical Forms and Devices, Music for Ensemble, Film Music and Popular Music.

In addition, there are extra music theory lessons available for students to gain ABRSM Grade 5 Theory if desired. This helps to improve their understanding of more complex harmonic ideas but also allows them to access the higher instrumental grades in the future and supports them if they pursue A Level Music.

BTEC Tech Award in Music Practice

The BTEC course allows students to engage with the music industry and develop relevant and practical skills including performance, composition and music production, applying their knowledge to practical industry-related contexts. Students complete three units throughout the course: Explore Music Products and Styles, Music Skills Development and Responding to a Music Brief. The exam board will produce tasks which will be completed during lessons under controlled conditions. One of the units is marked externally, with the other two being marked internally.

Key Stage 5

Eduqas A Level Music

At A Level students continue to explore musical concepts in more depth. Throughout the course, students create two compositions, one is a free choice, allowing them to pursue their interests and the other is linked to a brief set by the exam board, relating to Western Classical Music. A minimum performance standard of grade 6 is a requirement as students should be aiming to be performing grade 7 pieces or above when they complete their performance recital in year 13. Students will develop their knowledge of music theory and notation, being able to analyse music from scores. They will study The Development of the Symphony from 1750- 1900, Jazz from 1920-1960 and 20th Century Music including music by Debussy and Poulenc.