Music
Staff​
Head of Department
Mrs C McGready
Peripatetic Staff
Mr Simon O'Hare
Mrs Roisin Dolan
Mr Michael McGinty
Mr Chris Wright
Mr Pat McCabe
Mr Marty Jones
Mr Ronan McKee
Mr Chris Gilroy
Mr Jonathan Beatty
Subject Teachers
Mrs G Hanratty
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Brass
Upper Strings
Lower Strings
Woodwind
Traditional
Drumkit
Percussion
Guitar
Piano
Music class gives students an opportunity:
• to develop a positive attitude to Music in the school focusing on their confidence, enjoyment and perseverance.
• to realise the importance of Music in everyday life and develop an understanding of the part which Music plays in the world around them.
• to develop within students, the ability to think musically.
• to encourage students to think for themselves and to apply their knowledge.
• to develop an ability to understand musical terms and to communicate them.
• to encourage students to ask questions and to express their reasoning and thoughts.
• to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to communicate through music and to take part in music making such as Choir, Brass Band, and Traditional group.
• to use a variety of motivating experiences in the classroom, taking account of differences in abilities and in the ways in which students learn most effectively.
• to develop particular strengths and interests encouraging life- long learning and providing access to music related careers
Key Stage 3
The Northern Ireland curriculum aims to empower young people to achieve their potential and to make informed decisions throughout their lives
• To develop the young person as an individual
• To develop the young person as a contributor to society
• To develop the young person as a contributor to the economy and environment
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The music area of study delivers the key elements in the Learning for Life and work context:
• Personal understanding
• Mutual understanding
• Personal health
• Moral character
• Spiritual awareness
• Citizenship
• Cultural understanding
• Media awareness
• Ethical awareness
• Employability
• Economic awareness
• Education for sustainable development
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The curriculum develops the thinking skills and personal capabilities:
• Managing information
• Self- management
• Working with others
• Thinking, problem-solving and decision-making
• Being creative
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All students study Music in Years 8, 9, and 10.
Our aim is for the students to develop musical techniques in performing, composing and listening in conjunction with the revised curriculum requirements.
Key Stage 4
Students can select Music as a subject to study for a further two years.
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The department undertake the CCEA examination in GCSE Music. The course covers the following areas:
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• Composing and Appraising internally assessed and externally moderated – (30%.)
• Performing and Appraising which includes solo and ensemble performances (35%)
• Listening and Appraising which relates to the three areas of study (35%)
AS & A2 Level
Students follow a modular Music course for AS and A2 level which is built upon the knowledge, skills and understanding promoted by the programmes of study for Music at Key Stage 3 and GCSE.
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A level Music gives students the opportunity to develop their musical knowledge and skills to a very high level.
The students are assessed at the end of the first year of the course for the award of AS level and at the end of the second year for the full A level. The marks for the AS level are carried forward and combined with the final assessment for the award of A level Music. The course also provides a range of options in composition and performance, which allows students to focus on their own particular strengths, e.g. music technology, solo performance etc.
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The AS and A2 music course accommodates the needs and interests of a wide variety of students by providing flexibility within the units of assessments.
Careers
Although many students who take music to ‘A level’ go on to pursue specific music careers such as Music technology, Sound Engineering, Teaching or Music therapy, some students pursuing non-musical careers sometimes take Music as one of their A levels.
This may be because they are very talented and wish to achieve a very good grade on a subject with a high with a high degree of interest, enjoyment and accomplishment.
They may also feel that continuing the study of Music enhances the creative aspect of their personalities.
It is worth noting that the value of musical study is often recognised as valuable by Universities interviewing students for other courses such as Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Law and Engineering. Indeed Universities encourage students who apply for the aforementioned degrees to study an Arts related subject at AS/ A2 level.
