Academic/Subject Departments

Music

Our Music Department provides high quality music courses as well as a full range of opportunities for practical music-making at all levels of ability. The Department is located in several sites around the school grounds, but the main teaching area is ‘Ash Grove’, a detached house on the south of the campus. This is where all curricular and some extra curricular music teaching takes place.

All Year 7, 8 and 9 classes have a 1-hour lesson of music every week. The curriculum is based around three main activities: Performing, Composing and Listening. Lessons are themed in half term ‘units’ which follow a clear course of study and incorporate a wide variety of experiences and activities. Each unit is carefully designed so that it has a good balance of practical and theoretical activities.

GCSE Music (AQA) is offered to all Year 10 and Year 11 pupils as an option and to Year 9 pupils who wish to start GCSE a year early as a ‘twilight’ subject. Pupils are taught for two and a half hours per week.

The course includes:
-solo and ensemble performing, – composing – an exploration of music for film, music for dance, music for special events, orchestral landmarks and popular song from 1960.

A-level Music (AQA) is becoming an increasingly popular subject in the Sixth Form for pupils who want to take their music studies to a higher level. Pupils are taught for 5 hours per week.

A-level classes are typically quite small and offer many performance opportunities. Pupils learn in much more detail how musical sounds are organized and interpreted. They also study set works within the western classical music tradition, Music Theatre, Early 20th Century Jazz as well as practical aspects of performance and communicating as a musician.

Extra-curricular music making at Sheffield High School: at lunchtimes, there are many opportunities for instrumentalists and singers of all abilities. Our ensembles include: Concert Band, Swing Band, String Academy, Senior Strings, Chamber Orchestra, Chorus Line, Singers’ Club and Chamber Choir as well as other smaller groups which are set up as the need arises. Our 13 highly qualified visiting teachers provide instrumental and voice tuition within school hours. Music is highly valued at Sheffield High School and we are very proud of our young musicians’ achievements.